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^J_Jarkness of Africa 




iGHT OF America 



Z^c ^torg of an (African (prince 



THOMAS E. BESOLOW 



' Breathes there a man with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 

* This is my own, my native land '? ' 



BOSTON 

Frank Wood, Printer, 352 Washington Street 
i8qi 






-^- 



PHILANTHROPY. 



TO MY ONLY BROTHER 

WILLIAM E. BESOLOW and NEPHEW MORMORO, 

WHO:\I I HOLD IN LOVING THOUGHT, 
THIS LITTLE BOOK IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



" Knowledge by suffering entereth." 

" Genius is usually impatient of application ; industry can 
accomplish anything that genius can do." — H. IV. Beecher. 

From 
American Colonization Socioty 
May 28, 1913. 



Copyright, 1S91, by Thomas E. Besolow, Wilbraham, Mass. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the spring term of 1887, when it was my good fortune to be 
enrolled as a student in " Old Weslejan," at Wilbraham, it was my 
privilege to meet for the first time, Mr. Besolow. Never before had 
I grasped the hand, or looked into the face, of a native of Africa. 
Since that time I have been thankful that the Divine Providence 
brought me into the presence of one who had lived in the darkness 
of Africa, as long as I had lived in the light of America. 

My acquaintance with Mr. Besolow, which for more than three 
years has been very intimate, has been very pleasant and profitable. 

Mr. Besolow, as a student, has indeed done honor to his race. 
If the moral and mental caliber of this son of Africa is a fair sample 
of his race, then the Negro is a man, in many respects, not inferior 
to the Anglo-Saxon. We, who know him, believe that in the 
future the world will hear from him, and that good "Old Wesleyan 
Academy" will yet be proud of having nourished within her walls 
this negro brother. 

Considering that most of us have always lived amid the rush of 
our own hasty American life, and under the influence of our mighty. 
Christian civilization, have we not, in some measure, failed to 
behold the great and many needs of the millions who in Africa are 
enjoying the smallest volume of life, because the superstition and 
the heathenism of darker ages rule them with an iron sceptre, which 
bends them to the dust, and urges them to worship and to implore 
a cold, dead, barren moon to bless them, and to guide them.'' 

Away down through this brazen superstition, through the empty 
idolatry, and into the heart and mind of this humble African, there 
beamed a golden ray of the marvelous, life-giving light of the 
Saviour of the world. His whole soul became illuminated with the 
light of truth. Many have heard his humble testimony of how 
God redeemed him from the idolatry and human sacrifices of his 
people. 

Mr. Besolow is indeed a living, marvelous example of God's 
miraculous power to enlighten the heart and mind of man ; to 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

enable him to see the utter absurdity in bowing down to wood and 
stone, and on the other hand to enable him to know the far-reaching 
felicity of worshiping Jehovah's Son. 

Mr. Besolow is a prince. By legal right, it is his to occupy the 
throne which was once his father's. Behold, readers of this little 
book, what might then be accomplished toward the uplifting, the 
edifying, and the saving of these millions of souls for whom Christ 
died. In a few years Mr. Besolow will go out from beneath the 
domes of the institutions of learning in America, and he will 
possess an education such as few, if any, of his countrymen have 
hitherto acquired. Where will he go? It is his hope to drink, for 
a time, from the " Pierean stream" as it flows from the halls of 
learning in Europe. Where then will he go? 

All hearts who may then know him will say, " God bless him," 
as he returns, a Christian prince, to the land that gave him birth. 
It is his hope to regain the power which belongs to him, and having 
regained it, to swing open wide the gates, through which the 
Christian missionary from every land may pass, and tell the won- 
drous story of the Son of God to all his race. It behooves us to 
remember that. Africa is still dark. And the darkness which is yet 
brooding over that benighted people is of such density, as never 
can be conceived by one who was born, and has always lived, in a 
Christian nation like our own. 

Think of the long line of deluded women, who have given 
themselves as sacrifices, to be buried beside the body of a king or 
chieftain, deeming it a high honor to be thus entombed alive by the 
side of a dead ruler. Consider the thousands of human beings who 
have been sacrificed to the moon, as their fellow-citizens made 
their vows to that "pale Empress of the night." And remember, 
that, as you peruse the lines of this little book, the millions of that 
vast African world are struggling beneath the awful thraldom of 
this empty religion. 

Christianity has taught Mr. Besolow the great heaven-born 
principle of the universal brotherhood of man. In his heart burns 
the quenchless fire of true patriotism, which nerves him to struggle 
against mighty odds, to uplift, enlighten and Christianize his 
countrymen. 

He is aiding with funds, which he has accumulated by hard 
labor and self-sacrifice, and the kindness of influential men and 
women, several young men and young women, both white and 



INTRODUCTION. V 

black, to qualify themselves to go with him to Africa, and work 
among his people. He intends, if Providence gives him life and 
success, and if Christian men will sustain him, to be instrumental 
in building schools and colleges, especially in Soudan and Guinea, 
to give his countrymen a Christian education. 

In the lecture field, for a young man, he has had a rich and 
helpful experience, which is ever broadening before him. He has 
lectured before the students of Wellesley and Harvard colleges, 
and at this present writing he has an engagement to lecture on 
Africa before the Divinity School at Yale College. 

In all of the great work which he has planned regarding Africa, 
there can be no selfish motive, for it is by long days of incessant 
toil that he is laboring, amid all of his other duties, to complete 
his own education, while at the same time he is helping relatives 
and friends, with the hope that they will go with him and assist in 
carrying out his plans to help his very needy people. In all of his 
endeavors, the one grand purpose which fills his active mind, and 
upon which his eyes are irrevocably fixed, as upon a brilliant star 
in the midst of a blackened sky, is the enlightenment and the 
Christianization of his race. 

Noble ambition ! Grander than Napoleon's ! As worthy as 
Paul's ! Upon a throne in the heart of Africa, with Christ reigning 
upon the throne of his heart, with the flameof Christian civilization 
burning in his mind, will not Mr. Besolow make that darkened 
world feel his existence for its advancement.^ 

I firmly believe that no one who has moved, or may move, to 
aid him in his noble plans in behalf of his countrymen, will ever 
know a moment to regret having thus moved. 

Go on thy mission, little book, and may the instruction on thy 
pages borne, find lodgment in the heart of every reader. And 
may the touching scenes of empty idol worship, and human sacri- 
fices, there recorded, turn hearts and eyes toward Africa, and inspire 
all to help, as best we can, that needy race. 

Warren F. Low, 
A classmate, friend, and brother to Mr. Besolow. 

Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., 
Nov. 12, 189c. 



PREFACE. 



It was in a mission school, Cape Mount, Africa, that for the first 
time the truth dawned upon me that there was a higher civilization, 
and that the God whom I had worshiped from mv childhood was not 
the true God. This star of my vision I have followed until I find 
myself in this great and highly favored land. Here I am struggling 
to secure an education for myself, cousin, and a few joung men of 
mj native Africa, that we may go back to our people and assure 
them that the glory of the Lord has risen indeed upon the Western 
Nation, — such as we hope may be true some day of our own land. 

In this place I wish to mention my appreciation to the Congre- 
gational, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist Churches of the 
United States, and to thank the young men of Harvard, Yale, and 
Williams Colleges, and the young ladies of Wellesley College. 

My sincere thanks are especially extended to the Shawmut Con- 
gregational Church, Boston, Mass., New Old South, Back Bay, 
Boston, Phillips Congregational Church, South Boston, Immanuel 
Congregational Church, Roxbury, M. E. Church, Lenox, Mass., 
Park Street Church, Springfield, Mass., Fourth Congregational 
Church, Hartford, Conn., South Congregational Church, Concord, 
N. H., M. E. Church, Gloversville, N. Y., and the Hyde Park Con- 
gregational Church, Jermain Memorial Church, West Troy, N. Y. 

I take this opportunity, also, to thank Miss M. Annie Wythe, 
Preceptress of Wesleyan Academy, and all others who assisted me 
in my work, which thing I failed to do in my former edition. Also, 
the friends who have kindly criticised my pamphlet, and called my 
attention to the errors. The foregoing all have my deepest grati- 
tude for the kindness they have shown me, and for the help afforded 
me. 

Through lack of finances I was compelled to cut down the manu- 
script which I had prepared, from three hundred to one hundred and 
twenty-six pages. Being ill, and absent from my regular abode, I 
intrusted this work to a person whom I thought was competent, as 
she had done considerable copying for me. She afterward read the 



Vlll PREFACE. 

proof, as I was busy with studies and my lecture ; but as she did not 
understand the ins and outs of mj country, gross errors naturally 
found their way into my pamphlet. It is my purpose in this edition 
to correct these mistakes, and present to the American people, as 
true as it is possible for me to tell it. a vivid representation of the 
manners and customs of my people, and the story of my own life. 

Some descriptions written herein may appear on the face as im- 
possible, or at least exaggerated, but I assure you my dear reader 
they are facts. If I should tell you other scenes which I have wit- 
nessed you would wonder the more ; suffice it to say that Henry M, 
Stanley's work will bear me out in some of my assertions. 

If this brief account of my people and the story of my own life 
shall awaken in any aninterest in my people, I shall be profoundly 
thankful, and one end of my writing will be accomplished. What- 
ever returns will be realized from the sale of this little book, will be 
spent in securing an education for the work awaiting me in the 
"Dark Continent," which is beckoning me on with an impatient 
cry. The remainder, if any, in swelling the fund for the building 
of an institution for my people which will be a centre of light to 
dispel the darkness of ignorance from their minds, and which will 
be a monument for what " the God of the righteous" has done for 
a son of Africa. 

This book, therefore, is sent forth with prayer that God may use 
the thoughts within it to his own glory, for multiplying the so-much- 
needed laborers in that part of his vineyard, and that the day may 
soon dawn when those heinous sacrifices will be obliterated forever 
from the continent of my dearest Africa, and that the land of my 
birth may no longer be termed the "Dark Continent," but the 
"Beacon Light" of the whole world. 

In my former edition, it will be remembered by those who read it, 
I mentioned my intention to bring my only brother, a lad of four- 
teen years, to this country. To my disappointment, I received a 
letter from him which will be found in the last chapter of this pam- 
phlet, stating that he would not come. I hope, however, that by con- 
tinued inducements I may be able to change his mind. My prayer 
is that God will send him here. Let all my Christian friends pray 
to this end. If the kind people who sent me money for his passage 
will write to me, and so desire it, I shall remit their money; if not, 
it will be added to the building money, providing my brother 
decides not to come. 



PREFACE. IX 

In regard to my school, I thank God I am winning an interest 
for it from the influential men of my part of Africa. Some of their 
names maj be found in the chapter devoted to the institution. 

I am grateful for this fact, that this pamphlet has found its 
way into the White House, to the Astors, and to the New England 
peasants. It has crossed the deep to Her Majesty the Queen of 
England, to Hon. William E. Gladstone, and other Lords of the 
British Empire. Further, it has entered other parts of Europe : it is 
in the hands of Emperor William and Prince Bismarck of Germany, 
kings of Denmark, Scandinavia, and Austria, and our special friend, 
who has opened Congo Free State, Leopold II., of Belgium, who 
loves dear Africa's soil. It has gone to other principal potentates of 
Europe, even to the Czar of Russia and the Khedive of Egypt. 

Truly, then, I can say, — 

"While eternal ages watch and wait, 
God's plans move on." 

Yours for Christ and Africa, 

Thomas E. Besolow, 

Wilbrakam, Mass. 

Address all orders for pamphlets, etc., to Thomas E. Basolow, 
6i South Street, Boston, Mass. 

Please inclose five cents in stamps for postage. 



CHAPTER I. 

Esne amicus Dei bona fide, opere in terra incognita et populo 
-^thiopise? 

PHYSICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL AFRICA. 

In giving a general description of Africa, we must depend 
largely upon the accounts of men who have traveled over the 
country more or less. No one man has been able or ever will 
be able to travel over the whole continent, visiting its every 
part. The account of one traveler, be it ever so broad and 
comprehensive, conveys, after all, but a slight idea of the mag- 
nitude of this grand division of the land. To obtain an at all 
comprehensive idea of Equatorial, Western Central, Northern 
and Southern Africa, we must read with careful thought and 
study the writings of such authorities as Mungo Parke, Speke, 
Burton, Moifat, Livingstone, Stanley, and hosts of other and 
lesser lights whose works are authentic enough to be worthy the 
careful reading of a student on Africa and the African problem. 

Now while this pamphlet pertains wholly to myself and my 
own tribe, I feel that I should like to repeat a few of the gen- 
eral statements that have been made upon Africa, especially 
upon Physical Africa, — and I would also like to occupy a brief 
space on the people of that continent. A few brief ideas, or as 
the Roman has it, "multum in parvo." The continent under 
consideration, as all students of geography know, is one of the 
five grand divisions of the globe and ranks second in size. An 
English writer says, "larger than North and South America." 
It is the largest peninsula in the world. It is about 6,000 miles 
long, and 5,000 miles in width at its widest part, and it contains 
about 11,000,000 square miles of surface. It has about r 7,000 
miles of coast land ; but the coast is very regular, being broken 
but by few gulfs and bays ; perhaps this is one of the reasons 
why the interior is so little known to the white men. Its Tem- 
perate Zone occupies a space of about 1,000 miles. Its extreme 
southern part lies in the South Temperate Zone. It has a cen- 
tral belt of 40,000 square miles which Hes in the Torrid Zone. 



2 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

The greater part of Africa is, of course, in the Torrid Zone ; 
and, as much of the country is desert-land, it is, in general, the 
hottest and driest of ^11 the continents. Africa may easily be 
divided into five divisions. Northern and Eastern, Southern 
and Western and Central Africa. Northern Africa includes the 
Barbary States, the countries of the Nile, and Sahara the great 
Sandy Desert. The principal food plant in the region of 
Barbary States is the date-palm. Indeed, this kind of tree is so 
prohfic that the southern part of the States is called " Beled-el- 
jerid," meaning " Land of Dates." Other products of the States 
are grain, cotton, and Morocco leather. From the interior 
caravans bring ivory, ostrich feathers and gold-dust. 

You have all heard, I have no doubt, of that remarkable 
portion of the surface, known as the Desert of Sahara. This 
vast table-land is about three fifths the size of the United States. 
Though the greater part of the desert is a sandy, scorchingly 
hot plain, it does have places of much beauty here and there on 
its bosom. Oases are scattered over its surface at irregular 
distances. From some of these oases rise low and swelhng 
hills and even mountain groups. Here also are found large and 
luxuriant groves of trees of the date and palm family, and amidst 
these, sheltered by green, cool vines, are fresh and bubbling 
springs, the Mecca of the desert traveler. 

Prosperous little towns and villages are found on some of 
these oases, and on others good grain and fruit are raised. It 
seems hard to realize, and yet it is truth, that on some of these 
fertile spots in the very centre of the desert are cultivated 
groves of peaches, pomegranates, oranges, apples, bananas, 
barley, clover and tobacco. That such articles of commerce 
as peaches, barley and apples should grow in such a clime seems 
incredible, and yet you will find that Henry M. Stanley, Mungo 
Parke, and many German travelers, as well as missionaries to 
Africa will testify to the truth of my words. Artesian wells are 
easily obtained, and many hundreds of them are to be found 
by the weary, thirsty traveler, gushing fountain-like from the 
ground. 

The Nile Countries are Egypt, Nubia, Kordofan and 
Abyssinia, the most important of these being Egypt. Yes, 
Egypt celebrated above, all lands ! Africa feels justly proud of 
you. Proud of your noble pyramids — your stately ruins of old 
and ancient and decayed temples and cities. Egypt occupies 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 3 

the northeastern part of Africa, and extends from the Mediter- 
ranean to the source of the Nile, and hes between the Red Sea 
and Sahara. "The Delta" is a fertile spot found in the Nile 
about forty miles inward, and this is a most remarkably rich, 
productive and pleasant spot, and is comparatively speaking 
under good cultivation. Rain is never known in the valley of 
the Nile ; but for two, or more, often three months of every 
year the waters of the great river rise slowly until they overflow 
its banks and make the valley from the mountains to the sea 
look more like a huge lake than anything else. When this 
water settles away from the land again, the people plant their 
fields. These soon become green and beautiful, and yield 
abundantly. Among the principal products of this region are 
cotton, rice and wheat. 

Central Africa is about three thousand miles in width. It is 
heavily timbered. Here are found the densest of jungles, and 
some of the trees measure through from surface to surface any- 
where from one to six feet. Vines of various families entwine 
about the trees from top to bottom. They knit the trees so 
closely together, that it is only an experienced African traveler 
or a native African, who can make any kind of headway through 
them. No one but one who has seen it, can imagine and realize 
what the real density of such a forest is like. When the sun is 
at its zenith, these forests, which never feel its warmth nor are 
brightened by its light, are filled with a dampness like that of 
death, and a gloom like that of night; the leaves of the trees 
are always covered with night-time dews. While passing 
through such a forest, much suffering is endured from the in- 
tense cold. Oftentimes, as I have taken a short journey 
through them, my hands have turned nearly white with the 
cold ; so benumbed have they become that I could scarcely 
move them, and with all my exertions, I could not get any hfe 
into them till I climbed upon high ground, where a few, faint 
rays of the sun would reach my chilled body and thaw it out 
somewhat. In this manner Stanley and his men suffered much, 
as I have no doubt my reader is very well aware. 

The whole country is not covered with so thick a forest as 
the one described, but there are many of them, and where they 
are found the population is sparse and most degraded. If 
God's sunshine could get to the land ; if it could penetrate the 
thick leaves of the trees, and dry the foul moisture thereon, it 



4 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

would be a different country. If it could be cleared, the prog- 
ress would be remarkable. The portion which has been cleared 
has been cultivated with much success. 

The physical resources of Africa are adequate to sustain a 
large population. Indeed, the resources for sustenance and 
wealth are truly wonderful. The soil is rich and extremely pro- 
ductive. Crops can be grown at all times throughout the year, 
and from one year to another unceasingly. The soil seems to 
hold its richness in a remarkble manner that many cannot 
understand. 

The people of Africa are various and heterogeneous. There 
is a great mixture of tribes and nationalities, especially in the 
more northern parts, and more especially in the Barbary States. 
However, the Moors predominate ; while there are many Jews 
and Turks. The prevailing religion as you might infer from the 
foregoing is the Mohammedan form ; but the Jewish and 
Roman Catholic creeds are also very strong. Protestant relig- 
ion and missions are fighting against great odds, but they are 
doing good work and making headway in these States. I feel 
that I ought right here to mention some few things concerning 
the mission work. Information on this subject is needed coming 
from whatever source it may. Needed to awaken a greater interest 
and enthusiasm in the " Dark Continent " and also to awaken to 
more active work ; and also to give information to inquiring 
minds, — minds that are interested in the awakening country. 
If my attempt at doing so is humble, it still is something, 
and shows, at least, that one heart is loyal to the continent of 
possibilities — that one heart is beating with love for a benighted 
people, that one head and two hands are willing to labor night 
and day, and do their part in uprooting superstition and error 
from the African land, and from the hearts of the African peo- 
ple, whether it be the superstition of creeds or of heathenism. 
Yes, I firmly believe, and my belief is fixed by observation, that 
the Protestants are doing all in their power to spread the 
Gospel of the Lord among these benighted people ; but it is 
hard and difficult work. In the way of building churches and 
schools, they are doing good work — truly wonderful work — 
when you pause to consider all the difficulties they have to 
overcome, and all the impediments and obstacles thrown in 
their path by those whose sympathies are not with them. 

These impediments are bravely cast aside, and the obstacles 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 5 

surmounted with patient persistency. Anything is possible to 
a man or woman who has the love of God in his or her heart, 
and who has a strong will for the right — 

" The strength to dare — the nerve to meet 
Whatever threatens with defeat — 
Is all indomitable w^ill." 

Success to these brave, Protestant people ! May the 
choicest rewards crown their noble efforts is the earnest prayer 
of one whom they have helped to civilization. It is not an easy 
thing to work among these mixed tribes. Some tribes in 
Northern Africa, not properly speaking the Soudan, are treacher- 
ous, war-like and full of barbarity. 

Amalgamative people of Northern Africa are more desirous 
of plunder than some other tribes in Guinea, such as the 
Mandingoes and the Veys, and as these are my own people, 
I feel that I would like to speak in a general way con- 
cerning them. In the first place the Mandingoes and Vey 
tribes are one and the same. They inhabit a district which 
extends from 8° to t2° north latitude, and is situated between 
the head-waters of the Senegal and Niger Rivers, comprising a 
population of anywhere from 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 souls. 
As a people there is nothing lazy or shiftless about them. They 
have, if I may be allowed to say it, capabilities for a high 
degree of civilization and have very good ideas of organization. 

They have fixed dwellings, and though they are in most 
cases merely mud huts, they are usually defended by stockades. 
They are possessed of some laws and customs which are most 
favorable to commerce. The land is cultivated to some extent, 
and gold and iron are manufactured into various articles with 
much nicety of execution and much ingenuity. Cloth is also 
woven and dyed. Altogether they have qualities which speak 
well for the uplifting of the standard of life in Africa. They 
are the most widely circulated and important peoples of 
West Africa, north of the Equator, and are, I think, the best 
representatives you would find of the Negro stock. 

A great many people are under the impression that the 
native man of Central Africa, irrespective of the tribe to which he 
belongs, neither toils nor spins nor cultivates the land, nor pro- 
vides and procures for himself those things which are requisite 
for sustaining his body. These impressions are erroneous as 
you will find, if you proceed with this little book. 



6 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

It is mostly the native man who has hewn down the dark 
forests of which I have made mention, and thus permitted the 
light of heaven to warm the cold soil into life and vigor. A 
great many men have been misled about the negro or true black 
man. I do not mean to exhibit any prejudice, because I do not 
believe that a man can be a true Christian and yet be a preju- 
diced one at the same time. " He that holds malice with his 
neighbor not only causes his neighbor to be at variance with him 
but he destroys his own soul." Generally, one will find in this 
land of America, the poorest representatives of x\frican people, 
proper. They have been for centuries degraded by slavery and 
kept down by prejudice till they have become, some of them 
at least, but little higher than the lower animals. Whose fault 
is this? Ask yourself this question, my dear reader. Is it the 
American negro's fault, or is it rather his misfortune? Have 
there not come, even out of such poor material, men whom the 
world has marked as men of rare intellect, and fair represent- 
atives of what the entire race will finally become ? 

Poor morals, groveling obedience to any command, benumbed 
intellect and shiftless habits are not the characteristics of an 
African who has been given opportunities for self-advancement. 
These failings and faults which you see in the American negro 
have been caused by cruelty and bondage, and the hard usage 
received while they were for so many years the slaves of white 
masters, and white masters are responsible. Our brothers will 
pay the penalty, just as Rome did. Their intellectual powers 
have been crushed by it — their morals crippled by it — their 
habits and customs and modes of living lowered and degraded 
by it ; in short, all that was highest, noblest, and worthiest of 
cultivation has been crushed out of their hearts and souls until 
nothing is left that was their own by prerogative, save their sunny, 
happy dispositions. You say the negro man is lazy. Granted. 
What is the cause of this fact? Until thirty years ago, more 
or less, what incentive did he have to become anything higher 
than the beast of burden, which, in the eyes of his white master, 
he was. Of what use was it for him to show himself ambitious, 
progressive and active? If he did so he would be termed a 
"smart nigger," and his reward would be the auction block, 
where because of these very qualities, he would bring a bigger 
price to his master. 

You say that he has no intellect. What was done to enlarge 



'to tHE LIG;HT of AMERICA. 'j 

^nd cultivate his mental powers until the Civil War? Where 
for him and his were the schools and the advantages for learn- 
ing such as the white children had ? For the negro, the slave, 
in the very happiest and most prosperous moments what was 
there beyond a hoe, cotton-picking, three scanty meals a day, 
his bare hut at night, and his banjo? Do you think, kind 
reader, that you ought to judge of the possibilities of the 
African people by their unfortunate representatives found in 
this country? Why, there are some tribes in the interior of 
Africa that have never come into contact with Christianity or 
civilization and its influences ; but they are not idle or shiftless. 
They cultivate their own lands, invent their own alphabets, 
make their own hoes, and are superior to American negroes in 
intellect. Also plant corn, make their own fibre ; tan leather, 
and make it into sandals for their feet. 

Others in the Western sections, including my own tribe, 
obtain ore. When iron they melt it and work it over into 
sabres and spears and various other articles. From gold ore, 
they make finger rings and amulets. Most certainly these are 
signs that there is something in the African man capable of 
cultivation, and demanding the respect and attention of the 
civilized world. The day is not far distant when the sable man 
will shine forth with that intelligence, knowledge, education and 
the love of God, such as will give him a place among the en- 
lightened men of the world. I know that, with God's gracious 
sanction, my prophecy will come to pass. This is a self-evident 
fact — that the negro in his original state is a man of some in- 
tellect ; but when forced into slavery and bondage, he becomes 
demorahzed in every respect, for which he is not responsible, 
for he cannot help himself. The white man is blameworthy. 

The attention of civilization has been directed toward the 
continent for nearly one hundred years, now ; but nothing has 
been accomplished that amounted to much of anything, until 
within the last sixty years. Within that time Africa has been 
somewhat evangelized, Christianized. Good people have during 
this time established colonies on her borders ; namely, Liberia 
and Congo, which have been the home of liberated slaves for 
more than eighty years. These colonies have been partly 
supported, and ministers have been sent there, by these bene- 
factors. Teachers, consecrated men and women, have gone 
out for the purpose of redeeming the land. Now, at this 



8 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

present time, the colonies are able to sustain themselves and 
their various institutions of learning and their creed ; and are 
sending light and salvation to those who sit in darkness. 

In the colonies there have been established common schools, 
grammar schools and seminaries and academies, in which the 
young may be trained for the purpose of teaching. Robert 
Moffat, who, I suppose, was the first missionary to those dark 
parts of the land, carried to the natives, as early as 1816, the 
blessed gospel light. Heroes have struggled, labored and died 
since then for the continent, trying to establish within its 
borders the religion of Jesus Christ. Do not despair, and say 
in discouraged tones, the African man will never amount to 
anything. Have patience ; teach him of the love of Christ and 
teach him to love humanity ; labor patiently — labor, labor and 
"learn to labor and to wait." Labor and patience go hand in 
hand. 

Take all superscriptions on Egyptian images and paintings, 
and you will find that all persons represented thereon resemble 
your humble servant. We have the same physiognomy. Two 
years ago, while I was standing in New York Central Park, my 
attention was called to an Egyptian obelisk ; and as I looked at 
the superscription, and hieroglyphics on the pillar, I could 
trace a strong similarity to those used among the Veys and 
Mandingoes ; whether they are exactly equivalent in meaning, I 
cannot presume to say. 

VEY HIEROGLYPHICS. 

It may be interesting to notice the similarity of the Vey 
language with other languages. Take, for instance, the English 
word " lamp " and the corresponding Greek word " lampas," 
in the Vey it is "lampo." Take the Enghsh word " call" and 
the corresponding Greek word "kaleo," and Latin "calare," Dan- 
ish " Kalleu," the Vey is " kally." Notice the cognate mutes. 
Other examples are the Enghsh word " phase ;" in Greek it is 
"phaino," and in the Vey "phala." Also, Sanskrit " asmi," 
Greek "emmi," Latin '• sum," the Vey"amme." The Eng- 
lish "dear " is " dearmo " in Vey. The English word "litany," 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 9 

with the corresponding words in French are " Httanie," Spanish 
*'litania," Greek " Htaenein," and the Vey is "htca." The 
Greek word "ite," meaning ''to go," in Vey is " ite." The 
corresponding words for the Enghsh " father," in German is 
" vater," in Vey is " fath." The Vey for the English " mother " 
is "moth," while in Greek it is ''mater," and in Latin "mater." 
Would that I had the money, I would educate twenty-five or 
thirty colored young men, and take them home with me for 
work there. I am laboring now very hard to see a young man 
and brother, Stewart by name, through an education. He is a 
native of this country, and of Springfield, Mass. He is in 
Wilbraham with me. He is a young man of remarkable ability, 
but has never had any opportunity for going to school until 
now. My soul burns to help and encourage him. He and I 
work together, and if I can persuade him to go to Africa to 
work in the large field there I shall do so. 

"Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple, 
Who have faith in God and Nature, 
Who believe that in all ages 
Every human heart is human. 
That in even savage bosom.s 
There are longings, yearnings, strivings 
For the good they comprehend not, 
That the feeble hands and helpless, 
Groping blindly in the darkness, 
Touch God's right hand in that darkness 
And are lifted up and strengthened 
Listen to this simple story," 

— So Jig of Hiawatha. 



lO FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER 11. 



CHILDHOOD. 



"There was a place in childhood, 
That I remember well ; 
And there a voice of sweetest tone, 
Bright wondrous tales did tell." 

— Sam. Lover. 

CHILDHOOD AND SOAIE LEGENDS OF MY PEOPLE. 

I WAS born in Bendoo, Upper Guinea, Africa. Just when, 
I do not know. From the best of my knowledge it was in 
1867. No town clerk entered the fact upon his record — no 
wise census-taker put me down in his great book. Bendoo 
babies are born and then just grow. That's me. No trouble 
about clothes — no christening — no Sunday-school ; day comes 
and day goes — all were just the same. I never was taught a, 
b, c. Imagine and picture to yourself a naked little urchin 
rolling around under foot, mouth full of sand, at times, and 
feet in air, and playing as children play the world over be they 
heathen or Christian ; happy and miserable by turns, making 
little trouble, needing little care. I looked more like a big 
black spider than anything else, and grew to be a strong child. 

The old women of my town were very fond of telling me 
stories of my extremely young youth ; and I very much enjoyed 
listening to them, and questioned them minutely on points 
about which their memory seemed rather rusty. They told me 
at the tender age of two I came to blows with another infant 
pugilist. I was very hardy and lusty, and in this my first con- 
test came off victorious. This may or may not be true ; I hope 
it is not ; but that Vey boys and girls begin to exercise their 
muscles in wrestling feats that are not always of a friendly 
nature, I cannot deny. Before I grew to the realization that 
I possessed pugilistic powers, I spent the time in a leather 
cradle, or pouch-like bag, that was fastened on my mother's 
back by tough leathern thongs. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. II 

This cradle was handsomely embroidered with red, white, 
and blue beads, and warmly lined with the softest cotton. I 
very much doubt if a civilized baby has better accommoda- 
tions for the first months of his life than I had, according to 
the telling of those old women of whom I have told you. 
You see, my mother was of very high birth, and was the first 
wife of a king. In my country such a woman does not have 
the hard duties to perform which fall to the lot of the women 
of lower rank. I see the same distinction is made also in this 
country. Now, a woman of the lower class would have been 
obliged to go into the fields, with her child strapped upon her 
back, and to dig, and labor at burning brush or clearing woods 
all day long. The infant's face in the meantime would be pretty 
well blistered by the sun's scorching rays. 

Such hardships were not the lot of my mother ; she stayed 
in the shade and took good care of me, so that my early hours 
were the luxurious ones of a young prince. As I recall my 
mother, she was a tall, large, finely-proportioned woman, who 
showed in her every movement traces of her royal birth. She 
was the daughter of a neighboring king ; indeed, she was a de- 
scendant of the same line of kings as my father ; /. <?., the Goolah 
and Vey tribes. According to the custom of her tribe — and 
the same custom is in vogue in Vey — she was taught to sew, 
to embroider, and to cook ; also how to fish in small lakes and 
ponds. All these things mother learned when very young. 
Because she was the daughter of a king, she was taught in 
addition to these things, to write the ideographs of our language ; 
i. e., each letter is equivalent to a word. She was taught at 
home in this way for four or five years ; then she was isolated 
from the town and no one saw her again for several years. 
There she was taught household duties, as are all girls who 
attend the school. That much we all of us know ; but what 
other things they are taught, or what they do during these long 
years, mother would never divulge. Any Vey woman would 
gladly die before she would whisper, even to her husband, 
the secrets of that period of her life. No man knows con- 
cerning it ; for men are not allowed to go within an eighth of a 
mile of the retreat, on pain of death. After mother had spent 
these years in isolation, she came back with others to the capital 
town of the Goolah territory, and was ready to be purchased 
as a wife. 



12 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

Being of royal birth, the price set for her was so high that 
no one but a prince or king could hope to possess her. 

Father saw her when she was first home, and fell in love 
with her. Two years afterwards he went to his parents, as all 
Vey men are obliged to do when they wish to marry a woman, 
and told them he wanted her for his wife. They never make 
any advances towards a girl till they have first seen their own 
parents. Then father's parents went to negotiate with mother's, 
and asked tliem if Jessa could be purchased for their son. 
Mother's parents consented, and father married mother, and 
established her at Bendoo, where by right of her birth she held 
the first place among the rest of his wives. 

The matter of purchasing a wife may be of interest to my 
readers. If the girl has learned a trade, i. e., if she has been 
taught to cook, to sew, to embroider, or to dress hair (and 
many women do nothing else but go about plaiting hair), if 
she is a dancer or singer, then her prospective husband is 
charged for her education. If she has been ill, they charge him 
for the medicine man's fee, also for the trouble they have had 
taking care of her during her illness. 

If the man happens to be one of wealth, even her board 
from the day of her birth to the time of his marriage is put 
down in the bill. Then these are summed up, and if the young 
man has good habits — that is, if he does not steal nor lie, 
and can pay the bill — he takes possession of the girl. In our 
territory, as you might infer, there occur but few divorces. If 
he is able to pay the bill five times over, however, and is known 
to be a thief of a liar, he is not given the girl ; for the things 
that a Vey man hates most are thieving and lying. For these 
crimes men are put to death. 

My mother, Jessa, was distinguished in a great many ways 
from the other women of my tribe. She had never seen civil- 
ized people nor civilized countries, but as I look back and think 
over some things that were characteristic of her, I can readily 
see that she had ideas of a civihzation rather of an advance- 
ment much higher than our own. She was a strict disciple of 
that old maxim "Cleanliness is next to godliness," and looked 
after our bodies with as scrupulous neatness as any lady mother 
could. This kind of care for their children was an exception, 
not a rule, among most of the mothers of Bendoo. In times 
of illness, or when hurt or wounded in some way, she would 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 3 

take care of us with the most tender solicitude, — sometimes 
would watch beside her sick child all night long, and all the fol- 
lowing day. I remember once I had a kind of swamp fever 
and was very sick. She remained by me constantly, moisten- 
ing my hps with coohng water, raising my burning head at times 
to a resting-place upon her bosom, and smoothing my aching 
brow with her soft, gentle hand. 

Most Vey mothers would have called the medicine-man of 
the tribe to mutter his incantations and cast his spells over the 
sick child, and would not have troubled themselves further over its 
needs ; but not so with my dear mother, my dear Jessa. After a 
Vey baby became old enough to run around and look after himself 
to a certain extent, some mothers almost literally washed their 
hands of him, left him to his own devices, and went about their 
business, seeming to have lost much of the motherly love and 
instinct that should have been natural to them. Like a dog 
that tires of its puppy, or a cat that wearies of its kitten, so a 
savage, uncivilized mother used oftentimes to grow tired of her 
offspring. 

Here again was my mother a striking contrast to the women 
about her. She loved us all most tenderly : yes, I may say 
tenderly ; it is not too strong nor too meaningful a word, for she 
did love us with all the yearning affection of which a mother is 
capable, and we loved her much in return. After all, though, 
as I have said above, there are exceptions ; the Vey mother is 
characterized by her care of her young ; and comparatively 
speaking is more advanced in this respect than many of the 
women of other African tribes. I think the capacity for de- 
voted love, and for its reception in the heart, is a pecuharity of 
the Vey people ; and the power of this emotion has a fine 
humanizing effect upon my people, and causes me to hope great 
things for them. I do not think that it will be a very difficult 
matter to implant in their bosoms a strong worship of Christ, and 
I mean to try it. But I diverge from the subject at hand. To 
go back to it once more. I remember how much I missed my 
mother when she died, and how bitterly I and my brothers and 
sisters mourned over her death. Yes, even now on my inward 
eye forming the *'bhss of soHtude," come her kind eyes and 
smile. 

Father had over a hundred wives, but among them all his 
favorite was a woman called Taradobah. Father loved this 



14 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

woman more than he loved my mother and all of his other 
wives put together, and she seemed to return his affection. 
She was of high birth and of good ancestry like my mother, 
and she was a very handsome woman. Tall and straight, with 
muscles as hard and finely developed as a man. A well-shaped 
head set firmly upon a pair of grandly sloping shoulders. Her 
features were clearly and distinctly cut ; her mouth had the 
firmness of a man's, and no one could stand before the direct, 
searching gaze of her quick, black eye. I saw a picture of the 
Medea of Grecian mythology, and though she was white, there 
was something about her commanding air that called up Tara- 
dobah to my mind. 

Taradobah was indeed born to command. She was not an 
average woman, and was not to fill an average place in the 
world. Perhaps because of her love for my father, she loved 
all his children. At any rate, she formed a strong attachment 
for me, and I for her, and I was fond of playing around outside 
of her hut with her children and my half-brothers and half-sisters. 
When I was older, she told me, if ever I needed a friend, I 
should find it in her ; and I remembered those words after- 
wards. 

The lessons mother taught my brothers and myself about 
the respect we owed father, and submission to his will in all 
things, live always in my memory. From an infant, or from 
the time I could think, I was taught to do cheerfully and will- 
ingly all that my father bade me do, whether it was right or 
wrong. Indeed, my ideas of the distinction between right and 
wrong were imperfectly developed, if at all. 

Disobedience in the young was considered the most flagrant 
of offenses, and it was not only my father who could punish me 
for disobedience, but any man of forty or fifty years of age 
could thrash me soundly ; and when I recall the blows that so 
often fell upon my back, you will understand that my being a 
prince made no difference in regard to chastisement. No 
clemency was shown to me because of my rank. I suffered in 
common with the other boys and girls of more lowly parentage. 

A willing, cheerful obedience to our elders was required, or 
else we suffered harsh, and often horrible punishments, such as 
make me shudder now as I think of them. 

How many times have I beheld with tear-filled eyes and 
sympathetic heart, some young companion tied hand and foot 



to THE LIGHT OF AMERICA* 15 

to a post for some childish misdemeanor. He was left there for 
hours with the hot rays of the burning sun pouring down upon 
his uncovered head and body, — sun, too, so hot as to shrivel 
into nothingness the very leaves upon the trees, at times. 

Here he would hang, sometimes, if he was thought worthy 
of severer treatment than usual, till he was almost exhausted for 
want of food and drink. I have known some boys to remain 
tied in such manner for a day at a time ; and remember, a day 
is twelve hours with us. 

We would stand at a distance, and look at him with the 
utmost pity in our eyes, and with sorrowing hearts ; but we 
dared not approach too near to him, or offer him any food ; 
for if we did, we would suffer like punishment, with an extra 
blow or two thrown in. 

Sometimes an iron is heated to a white heat, and the miser- 
able little culprit is made to take the iron thus heated in his 
hand. It burns deeply into the flesh, and if he does not lose 
his whole hand, he loses the use of it for a long, long time, and 
carries the scar for life. I am happy to say. that the palms of 
my hands are not scarred in this way, but there are scars on my 
arms. 

Ah, I can now, in my imagination, hear again the wails and 
moans of those unfortunate children, and can experience now 
as I did then the sickening sensation of fear and disgust at 
sound of their cries. A parent can have a child slain for dis- 
obedience or disrespect. I remember one Httle fellow — he was 
just my own age, and we roamed the woods and played our 
games together, and had a strong affection one for the other. 
The first bitter grief of my life was when Tano's head was almost 
taken off by an angry father for a real or fancied impertinence. 

You can see what unlimited power a parent has over his 
children, and how severe is the discipHne of a Vey African boy. 
Yes, and girl, too, for the sex makes no difference. It is not 
much to be wondered at that they become such fearless, brave 
soldiers and huntsmen, when you consider the severity in which 
they have been trained, and how from earhest childhood they 
are constantly seeing cruel and bloody affairs like the kind men- 
tioned above. 

You may understand, then, that we boys and girls were 
very careful not to give offense and to obey always. The Vey 
boys stand in much fear and trepidation of their elders, and 



1 6 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

have the utmost respsct for them. I often think that the Afri- 
can boy might give the civiHzed boy and girl a few lessons in 
showing respect and reverence to those who are older than 
themselves, and especially the Yankee boy. 

I was very swift- footed, and had the extreme honor, for so 
it was considered, of being the one among all the boys of my 
own age who could run the most rapidly and run the longest 
distance without becoming tired. 

'Though we were all bare-footed, the soles of our feet 
became so tough and hard from constant usage that they were 
very soon insensible to pain, and I cannot remember that I 
complained of any hurt — the tough skin being impenetrable 
even to sharp thorns. 

When I was eight years of age I was taught how to use the 
bow and arrows. The proudest day of my life was when I 
became the owner for the first time of a bow and a quiver of 
nicely sharpened arrows. What gay times we used to have, in 
spite of all the constant, ever lurking fear of punishment, which 
we could not shake off. Remember, a boy that is nine years 
old is pretty large in my country. 

Sometimes fifty, often one- hundred of us boys, would 
practice shooting at a target, standing at a distance of forty 
feet or more. The target was a round piece of tiger skin, 
with a diameter of about one inch and a half. The boys would 
shoot at this target in turn, the boy whose arrow pierced the 
bull's-eye taking all the arrows of those who had tried before 
him and failed. Often when I was the lucky boy, the others 
would cheer me till they were hoarse, carry me on their shoul- 
ders about the town, and placing a wreath of palm leaves about 
my forehead, after the manner of the early Greeks in their 
sports, would declare me a hero or a king. I cannot tell you 
with what a glow of pride and dignity I wore my youthful 
lionors, till some other boy won them from me by greater skill. 

Then for running races the palm-leaf wreath is also given ; 
to win it one must run half a mile forward and back to starting 
point without once stopping. 

The palm-leaf was given as a prize to the one who could 
wrestle the best. Sometimes fifteen or twenty boys would join 
in this sport ; and the distinction one boy gained if he could 
throw the other fourteen or nineteen times, whichever the case 
might be, was something at which to marvel. The others would 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 7 

treat him as a king, wait on him and obey his sh'ghtest com- 
mand, till, as I explained before, he lost both the honor and the 
wreath to some other boy who was victor as he had been. 

1 could swim like a duck ; could always swim, in fact, for 
when I was but a very small boy, I was thrown into the 
water. With dog-like instinct I learned to swim and keep 
myself afloat, and could live as comfortably in the water as on 
land. The swimming contests and canoe races were another 
source of enjoyment to me, as a boy. I was allowed to hunt 
minor game a very litde when I had reached the age of twelve. 
Some people got a wrong idea here of my age when first 
allowed to hunt. You know as well as I do that I cannot tell 
accurately my age. 

Boys, under the guidance and direction of some older man, 
would enter the outskirts of the woods and spend an exciting 
hour in hunting, most often for the wild goat. Our guide blew 
a shrill blast on his horn, and we heard his cry of '' Ite kear, ite 
kear," which means "Cease, cease." 

Laughing and gamboling like satyrs, dragging the game we 
had caught after us, we would rally around our guide. We 
built a large fire ; if we had killed a deer or any animal whose 
flesh was eatable, we would skin it and throw its carcass on the 
coals. While the game cooked we would join hands and dance 
about the fire, whooping and yelling, laughing and poking fun 
at one another in the illimitable child fashion that is the same 
the world over. I poke fun at some one else's expense always. 

When the deer, or whatever animal it chanced to be, was 
roasted, we sat around it in a circle with our knives of sharp- 
ened wood, and each one helped himself and hacked away at 
the steaming venison, in a fashion that, if not polite, at least 
was full of the utmost heartiness and good cheer. For dessert 
to this impromptu feast, we ate bananas and pineapples that 
grew luxuriously and spontaneously in the groves around us. 

At night we would swing our hammocks, which we always 
took with us strapped on our backs, up among the trees, and 
snuggled into them comfortably. The hammocks usually 
cleared the ground by twenty or thirty feet, and we could go 
to sleep in comfort, feeling that we were out of reach of any 
wild animals that might prowl around, attracted by the remains 
of our feast. As a further precaution against such unwelcome 
visitors, just before we settled down for the night we built two 



i^ FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

large fires, one on each side of our encampment. We would 
lie in our hammocks and call from one to the other till we fell 
asleep, exhausted by the day's chase. 

How often in the dreary, sorrowful days that I have lived 
since, I have thought of those happy hours, and wished for my 
native country that is so far, far away ! New scenes do not 
efface the memory of the dear old days ; nor do they dim the 
memories of my mother. I can recall her tender eyes, and her 
gentle voice, when she drew my brothers and me about her, as 
lovingly as any white mother could, and talked to us of our 
father and the respect and duties which we owed to him. 

She told us to be true, brave soldiers always, and to die 
rather than show one trace of fear in battle or in contests of 
any kind whatsoever. She taught us of our gods. The respect 
we must show to the Moon ; the reverence in which we must 
hold the sacred crocodiles ; and the love and worship we must 
feel for Carnabah, chief and king of all gods. How our child- 
ish eyes would open wide with fear when she told as, in stirring 
tones, of the penalties dire and awful which we would bring, 
not only upon ourselves, by disrespect to any of these gods, 
but also upon the whole tribe. 

A terrible plague would fall upon us all — and we would 
die in horrible suffering, or we would all of us be stricken blind 
or speechless. A hostile army would invade our land and 
conquer us, and the Vey people would be slaves for the rest of 
their lifetime, and their children's children unto the third and 
fourth generation, would be slaves in their turn. If we showed 
carelessness in our worship of the Crocodiles they would dry 
up all the water on the land, and absorb all moisture from the 
vegetation, so that we would die of thirst. If we ever looked 
disrespectfully upon any of the festivals in honor of the Moon, 
no more light should ever be ours. The blackest, gloomiest of 
night-shades would fall, and would never again be lifted ; and 
in the darkness strange beings and creatures to us invisible 
would sting and bite and torment us constantly. 

Dishonor to Carnabah, God of Heaven, greatest and 
mightiest of all the gods, — ah ! that was visited with such awful 
punishments that no words could describe them. The vegeta- 
tion, the air — our own bodies would become ever consuming, 
yet ever inexhaustive fire. When we spoke flames would issue 
from our mouths — when we breathed we took hot fire into our 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 



19 



burning lungs. Our food would be like hot coals, our drink 
boiling and seething with heat ; and we could not escape this 
punishment. Wherever we might go it would overtake us and 
make hfe a torture and a misery. These are only a few of the 
many stories which mother told us in connection with our 
lessons on the gods of our tribe. 

Often she told us legends of our tribe, which had been 
handed down from generation to generation. How the first 
settler of our tribe was a strong and powerful man, who 
came with no companion but his wife. She bore him many 
children ; sometimes giving birth to three or four at one time. 
These children when they came into the world, were full-fledged 
men and women. At a little over one year of age the females 
would bear children, and so in this way the territory soon 
became populated. This first ancestor, Hera, was a very kind, 
gentle man, and loved his sons and daughters, and taught them 
of the gods, and of their duties to these. He was of gigantic 
size and weight ; so heavy was he that his foot-prints are yet 
shown imbedded in the rock, which yielded under his touch, 
mother said, like so much soft clay. He was so strong that he 
could shake mountains from their foundation ; " and it is from 
him, Besolow, that you and your people get your great strength." 
One of Hera's sons was his father's equal in strength and weight, 
and was a wonderful elephant hunter, thinking nothing of felling 
that immense animal by one well-directed blow. Then his son 
was famous and powerful, and so on for two or three generations. 
No stories are told of the kings and princes for the next hun- 
dred years. Then comes a story of another- king — a fable in 
our country similar to the Greek fable of Mercury. This king 
could fly with amazing swiftness. Far out of reach of the 
weapons of the foe, he would fly before the army of his own 
tribe, and ferret out the hiding-place of the enemy, who dreaded 
the " flying chief" as if he had been a demon. 

He fell in love with a cei^in beautiful woman who belonged 
to a neighboring tribe, and married her. She knew nothing of 
his strange power of flight ; but discovered him one day in the 
act of flying away, his arms filled with immense rocks, which he 
intended dropping, one by one, upon the heads of his enemies, 
who were unfortunately her own people. She betrayed him to 
her people, who stole upon him while he was sleeping and took 
his life. Then was there much lamentation and mourning and 



20 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

weeping among his friends ; and " from that day to this, my 
son," mother said, " there has never been another flying chief 
born to the people." 

A few years afterwards there came to the throne a big, burly 
king, whose mother had been a lioness, people said ; he was 
very cruel and fiendish. Day by day he would have hundreds 
of his people brought up before him, and for the delight and 
pleasure which it afforded him, would have them beheaded by 
the score. Often four hundred of them would die in this way 
in one short day ; the whole town would take a holiday, to 
witness this dreadful spectacle. He would have days upon 
which he tortured, seeming to enjoy this more than when he 
had the victims killed outright. He would have the eyes 
gouged out of the heads of some ; burnt out of the heads of 
others with red-hot irons ; others would have their lips bitten 
off by some slave as blood-thirsty as the king who employed 
him — or perhaps his nose or ears, whichever it might chance to 
be. Instead of dogs he kept lions and tigers, and quite tame 
they were ; they would hck his hand and fondle about him, 
recognizing in him one of their kind. When these animals 
grew hungry he would snatch a babe from the arms of its 
mother, and throw it to them for their repast, or a young, half- 
grovi^n boy or girl, even a man or woman, if it so pleased him. 

Under his reign the population began to decrease, as you 
might well imagine, after such wholesale butchery of the people. 
" One day, after a terrible slaughter and torture of innocent 
people," said mother, her big eyes very wide open, " there 
came down to the earth a huge, black cloud ; it parted, and, 
seated on a throne of fire, with blue flames licking him on 
every side, yet leaving him all unharmed, was the biggest, 
awfulest looking man or creature ! It was hard to make out 
which he was, or to tell where the man stopped and the animal 
began. He reached out his long, hideous arms, and a darkness 
came over all the land as he did so. He took the wicked king 
Hoodoo into them ; and the women could hear his bones being 
cracked as his lions had so often cracked the bones of their 
children. In a voice compared to which the loudest thunder 
is but a whisper, faint and low, he said : ' Come, you wicked 
one, to Cayanpimbi.' Then the cloud closed and lifted from 
the earth, and the bad king was never seen again." After 
mother had finished this story, I looked at the sky with much 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 21 

fear and trembling ; but she said I need not fear : the " cloud- 
man " never came save to bear off a very cruel king. 

This legend used always to have a great effect upon me ; 
and I would often muse over it for days. When a prisoner was 
punished in what appeared to me to be a particularly cruel 
manner, I would look up at the sky with awe-filled eyes to see 
if there were any signs of the " cloud-man's " coming. 

These are only a few of the many stories and legends of my 
people. 



22 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER III. 

" The bloody act is done, — 
The most arch deed of piteous massacre 
That ever jet this land was guilty of." 

—Richard III. 

LIFE IN BENDOO. 

I WILL tell of the origin of my people, as it was so often told 
to me by my mother, by the old chiefs of my father's tribe, and 
once by father himself. It was always of interest to me, and 
may be of some interest to my readers as well. hs> my mother 
used to tell it to me, it ran somewhat in this way : More than 
two centuries ago, a nomad tribe numbering hundreds of men 
and women, left x^byssinia, and for many years wandered toward 
the country west of the central part of Africa, like the Helvetians 
in the time of Caesar. 

At last they arrived at a pleasant territory a little northeast 
of what is now the Republic of Liberia, and being pleased with 
the lay of the land concluded to make it their home, and cease 
their wandering. This country was already occupied by a 
powerful tribe called the Goolah, but this nomad tribe, called 
the Vey, were not inclined to change their minds on that 
account ; but in the spirit of conquerors they commanded the 
Goolah people to take up their abode in some other place. 
Naturally enough the Goolah king refused to do anything of 
the kind, whereupon the Vey people began to wage war against 
the occupants of the land. It was tacitly understood that the 
strongest tribe, /. e., the victorious one, should possess the land, 
and evermore hold the conquered tribe as servants — slaves, if 
they chose to do so. " Might makes right." 

For a long time the war raged fiercely, for both tribes were 
strong and brave. It was not until after a siege of nearly twelve 
months that the Veys proved victorious and took possession of 
the territory, which they have held ever since. The Goolahs, 
humbled and discouraged by the defeat, made no further resist- 
ance to their captors, but accepted the subordinate places 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 23 

assigned to them with quiet yet simple obedience. Wishing 
to bind the conquered people to him, the king of the Vey 
took in marriage a daughter of the king of the Goolah, and 
from this union sprang the royal line of kings and princes of 
Vey, from whom, I am happy and pleased to say, I am 
descended. Yet some American men do not respect me. 

Bendoo, Bendoo, my own, my native town ! How often I 
think of you with tears in my eyes, and with the utmost longing 
for you in my heart ! Would that I could draw a pen picture 
of my native town as it is ; but, alas, I fear — I know, in fact, 
that I cannot. 

Many descriptions have been written and will yet be written 
to describe African towns and villages ; but, after all, I think 
but a faint idea of these places is conveyed to the mind of the 
reader, unless he has traveled in some part of the " Dark Con- 
tinent," or in some other country whose people are but slightly 
advanced. Scattered over considerable extent of country 
northwest of Upper Guinea, in the neighborhood of Liberia, He 
the various colonies and towns of the Vey tribe. These colo- 
nies are very rich in a great many respects. In some of them 
the ground is so fertile and yielding that cotton will grow 
continually year after year ; and this land will yield not only 
cotton crops, continually, but also corn, tobacco, and other 
productions of the torrid zone. 

In some of the other colonies vast gold mines are found, 
and the rivers, in such places, sometimes run yellow with the 
glittering ore. I have seen such immense quantities of gold- 
dust at times in my life, that if I told you how much, or com- 
pared it to other things that are commoner, and of which you 
see no lack every day, you would doubt my word. North of 
the kingdom is situated the town Gorrah ; east, Davuma ; south, 
Jalakipalacla, and west Toracora. The Vey or Mandingo 
tribe is not one and undivided ; it is divided into many sub- 
tribes, who have peculiarities of government, and customs 
original with themselves, but many of them speak a common 
language, but are subjects under various kings. But there is 
a superior king over these kings, and father was, at one time, 
one of these superior kings. The territory was given the 
name of Vey after the Vey people who came originally from 
Abyssinia. Two hundred long years have passed away since my 
first ancestors left their pleasant or otherwise, home in Abyssinia, 



24 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

for what reason I do not know. I have heard it said that it 
was to escape the iron rule of a tyrannical ruler ; but be that as 
it may, they wandered south and they wandered north before 
they finally reached and settled upon the lands which they have 
held ever since. These first people of our land were named 
Besolow. This name signifies "peace," and has been a name 
much used in our family ever since. These ancestors, we have 
every reason to think, were men who possessed some excellent 
powers — of judgment, justice and mercy. Under the first king 
whom they elected, flourishing little hamlets soon sprang into 
life. The mines were worked, and the gold obtained made 
into rude ornaments - These ornaments are often dug up from 
the ground by men and boys, and were in my time. Rude 
cooking utensils carved out of stone have also been found, and 
in many cases an attempt at ornamentation has been made upon 
these, which, taking everything into consideration, was not a 
very poor attempt. 

I have told you about the Goolah tribes whom my people 
conquered, when they, my people, first came to the territory. 
So long as this first king who had married the daughter of a 
Goolah chief, lived, everything moved easily and harmoniously ; 
the Goolahs were crushed and humbled by their defeat, and fell 
into the lower places assigned them with sullen obedience. 
When the king and his queen died, however, they rose to arms, 
and attempted to oust the territory from the Vey. 

Another scene of bloodshed and suffering and torture took 
place. I have heard that it was a most cruel war. Finally, 
after many a month, the Vey were again victorious, and the 
Goolah were put back again into the places from which they 
had attempted to rise by insurrection. But after this war, and 
under control of a new king, things did not prosper in Vey 
lands as they ought to have done. For a long time everything 
came to a standstill ; and the people seemed to be retarding 
and retrograding instead of going forward. I have often been 
reminded of that period of my people's history, by a similar 
one in primeval American history. I have reference to the 
Mound-builders, who were such a superior people, and the 
inferior race who came after them. 

Not many years, however, did the Veys remain inactive. 
It was not their nature. They are not a lazy people, as a 
general thing. Under the reign of another good king, the 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 25 

territory began to improve once more, and from that day to the 
present day, it has gone on steadily growing better and stronger 
and more advanced, in a great many respects. Rude ideas of 
architecture will be found in the minds of a great many, — also 
ideas, imperfect, perhaps, but still ideas, of farming are pos- 
sessed by others. The king, of course, is the sovereign ; but 
after all, the voice of the people is heard to some degree 
through the Council who are called " King's eye," and always sit 
with the king in matters pertaining to the government. If Chris- 
tianity was once instilled into their minds and hearts, I think 
their progress would astonish some of you white folks. I am 
not saying these things because the Vey happen to be my own 
people. I say them because I believe my words to be a truism, 
to which I desire to give expression. 

In the centre of our territory is situated the capital, and my 
birthplace, Bendoo, a really beautiful town, skirted by magnifi- 
cent forests and clear, sparkling lakes. Situated on a promon- 
tory it extends into a large lake called Peso. It is in this Lake 
Peso where the sacred crocodiles are kept. It is a picturesque 
sheet of water whose shores are beaten smooth and level by the 
feet of many pilgrims, from miles around, who come here to 
offer sacrifices to the gods. In his youth, my uncle had 
spent four years in Spain, and came home from that country an 
atheist ; therefore he had not succeeded my father long before 
he had all the sacred crocodiles put to death. He had no 
respect for those great divinities. 

Bendoo occupies a space of a considerable number of miles 
and has a population of about two thousand souls. 

In my father's time it was the seat of trade with the Ameri- 
can, English and Dutch traders. Shortly after he ascended the 
throne, father made a treaty of peace with the Liberian govern- 
ment, and agreed to open commercial relations with them, both 
of which agreements he kept most faithfully till his death, 

Bendoo is built in the form of an octagon, and is completely 
surrounded by villages. Two fortifications are thrown up to 
protect it from encroaching tribes or the onslaught of the 
enemy during war times. The outer fortification is built of mud 
and hard-wood, and is seventeen or eighteen feet in height. 
The inner fortification is of less height, and is built of the same 
materials. In the space between these fortifications, sentinels 
walk constantly. For greater protection to the town a ditch 



26 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

has been cut all around it, and in some places this ditch is seven 
or eight feet deep. The walls are pierced by four gates, and 
stationed at each of these gates a sentinel is always to be found. 
Every stranger is obliged to prove satisfactorily that he is a 
friend. Some of them, those who belong to a tribe which 
boasts a written language, are obliged to show a certificate or 
pass sentence — Mo turn dea moo, — /. e., "We are friends from a 
distance." 

The sentinel calls for another man, who conducts this stranger 
to the king or his council, before whom he states his business. 
In this way, the Vey people take the utmost precaution always ; 
and they are not at all too careful, for some of the tribes in the 
vicinity are very jealous of our progress, and treacherous as 
snakes. 

There is one long, straight, main road that cuts through the 
centre of the town, and off this run innumerable small roads 
and lanes which are extremely narrow and irregular. 

The huts of the people are cone-shaped, built of burnt clay 
and grass, and, except in rare instances, they are not over 
eighteen feet high. The average door-way is little over twenty- 
five inches in height and narrow in proportion. 

The width and height of the door-ways in this country was 
something at which I marvelled when first I saw them ; and it 
seemed very strange that I was not obliged to crawl and wriggle 
myself through a narrow opening as we are obliged to ; so 
narrow, in fact, that often a fleshy man or woman would get 
stuck, not being able to get one way or another, and would cry 
and pant till some one came to pull them out or push them in. 

The framework of the huts is of hard, durable wood, which 
is daubed over with mud or clay. These huts are wonderfully 
strong, and so compactly built that often they stand for sixty or 
seventy years without repair. 

The frame-work of the windows is made of bamboo, and 
there are usually three or four of these windows in each hut. 

Father's hut or " palace " was three times as large as the 
common man's hut, with a much larger door-way, and a finely 
pohshed outside door of some beautiful African wood. 

In front there was a space spread with leopard skin rugs 
and straw mats, where visitors could be accommodated, and 
where the Council sat when they convened to discuss matters 
of importance pertaining to Vey. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 27 

Then surrounding the palace were many courts which con- 
tained the huts of father's slaves, and also those of his many 
wives. In the palace only men-servants were allowed. No 
woman could approach the building without first obtaining 
permission, except the woman who holds the key to the store- 
house. 

The furniture of the common man's house is extremely 
simple, and very limited. There are two stools for himself and 
wife, or four, or five, or six stools, depending, of course, upon 
the number of wives he may happen to possess. A hammock 
or two will be hung from the ceiling. On the walls, occupying 
a prominent position, the first objects that meet your eyes are 
his spear and sword, and one or more skeletons of animals 
which he has killed. Of these latter he is very proud indeed, 
and never neglects an opportunity of calling your attention to 
them. Beside these will hang his war accoutrements, made of 
the skin of some of the lower animals, unless he be a man of 
rank, when his garments will be made of tiger skin, well lined 
with cotton. A few roughly hewn cooking utensils complete 
the list of the furnishings of the average hut. 

In all homes is found the household god, or African Pa- 
nates, carefully placed in the horn of a ram and glued over, and 
bought of our medicine men, and which they warrant will ward 
off any sorrow or misfortune that might chance to be hanging 
over the family. 

Father's hut was more conspicuous than any other in the 
way of furnishings. As I have said, it was very much larger, 
and the main floor was portioned off into rooms, by means of 
curtains of bamboo wood, cut into long, slender strips. There 
were many more stools, cushioned with skin, stuffed with cotton, 
and a few rough benches built into the wall ; mats of braided 
straw covered the floor ; and in place of cooking articles, the 
walls fairly bristled with war weapons, and Panates, or house- 
hold gods. 

Large portions of land in the vicinity of father s house were 
fenced off, and here the domestic animals of our tribe, the ox, 
the goat, and the cow, were kept safely penned during the night. 

North of Bendoo is a deep, dark forest, that is so dense and 
dark as to be almost impenetrable ; while immediately in front 
of this are immense groves of palms, golden bananas, and big, 
luscious red oranges, the like of which, in juice or flavor, I have 
never seen in this country. 



28 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

Life begins in Bendoo at daybreak ; and when the sun goes 
down, and night comes on, especially if the night be clear and 
bright, the people dance and sing about the camp fires till almost 
midnight. "When the sun goes down all Africa dances." 

P'ather's hut faced directly on the main street, and the huts 
of his wives were arranged in a circle about it. Father had a 
hundred wives, or more. Of all his wives my mother was treated 
with the greatest consideration and respect, because of her high 
birth, but she was not the favorite or best-loved wife. 

Father's favorite wife was a tall, fine Amazonian woman, of 
much energy and clear-sightedness, named Taradobah. 

Taradobah took a great fancy to me, and always treated me 
with a great deal of kindness and consideration. 

My mother held the keys to the storehouse, and doled out, 
as it suited her, the food and raiment of the other women. She 
and Taradobah were especially good friends, and there never 
appeared to be any jealousy between them. 

The market-place in Bendoo was a large open space of 
about sixty or seventy feet. The hum and bustle of the market- 
place begins to be heard at a very early hour once in three 
months, for the market for trade between native tribes is opened 
only four times during the year. 

Among the men who gather around the market-place are 
many buyers, sellers, and idlers. 

Here we saw the wealth and riches of the African forests, 
and mines, and lands ; sweet potatoes, nuts, yams, palm oil, 
skins, gold dust and ivory, cam-wood, and some finely em- 
broidered mantles of many gay colors ; these were given in ex- 
change for fowls, goats, sheep, oxen, or whatever a buyer had 
which the seller wanted. In this manner we barter one thing 
for the other ; the most important and most often employed 
currency consisted of cloths, gaily colored, cotton, red, blue, 
and white beads. 

Young boys are forbidden to approach within a quarter of 
a mile of the market-place, and also the place where trade is 
carried on with the white people. At twelve years of age we 
are sent away to a forest school, and thus, strange as it may 
appear, only one boy in a hundred ever sees a white man until 
he is grown to a man's estate. For the penalty of disobedience, 
I have explained in a previous chapter. Of course we heard 
descriptions of them, and I know in my own case, my heart 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 29 

beat very quickly when an old man told me they were white as 
the lambs were when newly washed. " What hideous-looking, 
ghastly appearing men they must be ! " was my thought. It 
seemed to me I would rather meet a Hon or a gorilla than one 
of these strange men. The boys used to get together and talk 
about these strange people, and ask each other what they would 
do if they should come upon a white man in a forest. " Die 
of fright," some would say. "Run for my life," another re- 
plied. " Kill him," was the response of some others. But no, 
we would not dare to take his life, for how did we know but 
that he was a god of some kind, and how dreadful would it be 
to make an attempt at the life of a supreme one ! 

On the days when we knew that the white traders were in 
town, we could think of nothing else ; and though we dreaded 
to, yet we longed to see them, with all a boy's curiosity. We 
had been forbidden by our fathers to approach that part of the 
town, and we knew some terrible and harsh penalty would fol- 
low if we dared to disobey the parental command. 

One day, however, one of the boys, a little fellow of not 
more than eight years of age, and of a very daring disposition, 
determined to brave all, and make an attempt, at all hazards, 
to see a white man, and also the manner of carrying on trade 
in that mysterious part of the capital that was a sealed book 
both to him and to us. 

We advised him not to attempt any such thing. We told 
him if he did and was found out, and that it was pretty certain, 
he would lose his fingers, nose, or worse still, his life. He 
"pooh-poohed"* the idea; said he'd be very cautious indeed, 
and started off on his reconnoitering tour, feeling, I've no 
doubt, very grand indeed, while we waited developments in 
much excitement and a good deal of trepidation. We soon 
heard terrific screams and cries, and instinctively knew that it 
was our daring comrade who had been discovered in his dis- 
obedience, and was suffering the consequences. In this case 
the consequences suffered were the loss of one of the fin- 
gers of his right hand, besides a merciless whipping ; he was 
bound hand and foot to a tree, and lashed by two men, with 
long, thick, leather thongs, till the blood gushed from the 
wounds as freely as water. 

* This is a good old African word, used as frequently among my 
people as it is among people of this country. 



30 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

Then all of us boys of his own age were summoned before 
father, and he told us he was going to warn us once again to 
remain away from the trading markets. The next boy found 
within a quarter of a mile of it, should lose his life. " Wan- 
der," he said, "where you will, in other parts of the town, or 
in the forests, but keep away from the markets. No mercy 
shall be shown to the next disobedient boy or girl." 

Our curiosity concerning the white man was, as you may 
well imagine, considerably dampened, and remembering the fate 
of our companion, we shunned the markets as we would have 
shunned an evil spirit. 

It has often been asked me : " How is it that you had never 
seen a white man till you came to the mission, when your father, 
right in the town where you were, carried on such extensive 
commercial relations with Caucasians?" I always answer this 
question as I have done above. The southern part of the 
town is devoted to nothing else but trade ; but the white man 
dare not cross a certain prescribed Hmit of land, or he, like the 
native boy, may lose his life. So though the white man may be 
very near the African boy, he is also very far away ; he might as 
well be in America, or England, as far as the black Vey boy is 
concerned. 

Father was very anxious that some of his sons should learn 
to speak the Enghsh tongue, so that they could help him in his 
business, as interpreters. He employed about two thousand 
men, but only one in every hundred could speak anything but 
the native tongue. He himself knew only a few English words 
and phrases. Then he determined, instead of sending me to 
the usual African school, that he would send me to the mission 
at Cape Mount, on the coast. When I learned of his inten- 
tions I was in despair. What ! be sent among those terrible 
men, whose skin was white, like newly washed lambs, v^hose 
hair was light, like the sun ! No, no, no ! I would rather die 
many, many times over. I went to mother and wept, and 
begged her to intercede for me with father. I went to Tarado- 
bah, also, and pleaded with her to do the same ; /. ^., intercede 
for me with my father. I would be such a good boy, I said ; 
I would never disobey in the slightest particular ; I would strive 
very hard to become a brave and fearless warrior and hunter ; 
I would offer many, many sacrifices to the gods, if they would 
only save me from the miserable fate of being sent among the 
dreaded white people. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 3 1 

What horrible kind of a country was it, I asked them, where 
those people lived ? What would they do with me when they 
got me there ? Might it not be Cayanpimbi (hell) ? I pleaded 
so earnestly that both mother and Taradobah consented to use 
all their influence with father to have him change his decision. 
Of all mother's children, I am glad to think that I was her fa- 
vorite, that she loved me best. She was very averse to my 
going; for if I went she said she knew she'd never see me 
again. 

She had many animals killed and offered to the Moon and 
Carnabah, beseeching them to permit her son to remain in 
Bendoo. 

Just at this time there was to be a grand festival, if I may 
so call it, in honor of the Sacred Crocodiles, and I distinctly 
remember the thriUing story as it came from the lips of my 
mother, I myself not being present, a boy, as I was, not being 
allowed at the sacrifice. 

Five years had elapsed since the last one had taken place, 
and preparations on a larger scale were made for this one. 
The town took on a gala appearance. The women plaited 
feathers and leaves in their hair, bedecked their persons with 
all the beads and jewelry they owned, and joined the others 
in roasting the carcasses of animals which men and boys were 
busily engaged in killing and dragging from the woods. 

The musicians were out in full force, with their clappers, 
and horns, and drums, — the air was filled with the melody (?) 
of hunting and war songs. Medicine-men, in their best tog- 
gery, mumbled to themselves as they moved about the town, 
with airs of importance. Why should they not be self-con- 
scious ? Were they not, on this great day, to perform the sacred 
rites and ceremonies in honor of the gods ? 

People from other parts of the country — from the north, 
south, east, and the west — began to arrive in Bendoo by the 
hundreds. There were bhnd and lame, old and young, sick 
and well — all constantly arriving, till it seemed that there would 
not be space in which to accommodate them all. 

Yes, Bendoo at this time must have resembled Jerusalem 
just before the feast of the passover, when it was filled with pil- 
grims who were bent upon seeing and speaking to Christ ; or 
like the "Jews' WaiHng Place" in Jerusalem, where it is the 
custom to this day, and has been for many centuries, for the 



32 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

Jews to approach the "temple of their fathers " and moan and 
pray beside it. 

Right here, my dear reader, I want to say a few words. 
Do not get the idea that such a great concourse of people 
would come together for the purpose of a sacrifice in my behalf 
alone. I want to speak particularly of this, because in my former 
edition a good many people were misled in regard to the occa- 
sioning of this sacrifice. Through haste in this place in copying 
and cutting the MSS. written to fill a book of three hundred 
pages, but cut to some over one hundred, there occurred, 
naturally enough, some errors, which in this edition I shall aim 
to correct, and this concerning the sacrifice to the crocodiles 
is one of them. This was the story that was put in the former 
edition as real fact, and that I was an eye-witness. This is 
false. I could not have been an eye-witness, on account of my 
age. This blunder was made by the party who cut the number 
of pages from three hundred to some over one hundred. 

This is a great festival that takes place in Bendoo once in 
every five years, and it chanced that the day for observing it 
dawned during my troubles in regard to being sent away to the 
mission. Hoping this is now clear to my charitable reader, I 
shall resume my story. 

When all the people had arrived who were likely to come, 
a blast from many hundred ivory horns announced to the wait- 
ing natives that the ceremonies were about to begin. The 
scene was a striking one. The people — men and women 
rushed down to the shores of the lake, pushing and scrambling 
for a standing-place in a way that was dangerous alike to life 
and limb. 

My mother told me, before going, that she should offer 
prayers to the gods to prevent my father from sending me away, 
and also that it was a very fortunate thing for me that the sacri- 
fices were to be offered at this time, as she believed that the 
crocodiles would listen to and grant the prayers of a loving 
mother for her son. 

I will tell this story, with some comments, as nearly as I 
remember it told to me. 

The hour for the sacrifice was at hand. Suddenly a deep 
silence fell over all. Fifty or more medicine-men were ap- 
proaching the shore. They wore long, floating, white robes, 
and looked very sober and solemn indeed. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 33 

About a dozen feet from the shore could be seen the red, 
hungry eyes of a half-hundred crocodiles. Their great, gaping, 
slimy mouths were opened greedily, as if they were eager for 
the expected feast. The low, drawling voices of the medicine- 
men were heard for a half hour or more in an unintelligible 
harangue ; then through the crowd there pushed their way 
twenty-five slave women with their naked babes in their arms. 
At this point the musicians began to play upon their instru- 
ments — the dancers began to execute some wild, fantastic dances 
— the singers began to howl, for no other word expresses it — 
the voices of the medicine-men grew louder and shriller, and 
amid all this, the spectators with many a prayer and promise 
to the gods fell upon their knees and rocked themselves to and 
fro as though in mortal anguish ; and all the while the gleam- 
ing eyes of the crocodiles seemed to dilate and grow larger, and 
their capacious, horrible mouths seemed to look more greedy 
and expectant. The only quiet ones in the crowd were the 
slave mothers and their babes. To look upon them was a sight 
never to be forgotten. The tears were silently dropping from 
their eyes as they bent over their little babes, who were cooing 
and throwing up their little chubby hands into the air, happily 
unconscious of the horrible fate awaiting them. The mothers 
quickly and quietly brushed away the tears, however, for if 
caught in the act of weeping for their babes, their own Hfe, in 
all probability, would have paid the penalty. 

These babes were to be offered as sacrifices to the croco- 
diles ; and what greater honor could be conferred upon a slave- 
woman than to be asked to offer her child as a sacrifice to the 
gods ? After the priests had finished their long harangue, they 
took the babes from their mothers' arms, one by one, and 
annointed their naked little bodies with fragrant oils and salves ; 
and then the mothers, in their supposed joy at the proceed- 
ings, were expected to dance and caper about, and sing a pro- 
pitiatory song to the gods, in which they fervently hoped that 
the sacrifice would please them, and be sweet, tender, and 
toothsome. How dreadful it was ! What a strain it must have 
been upon those mothers to have pretended joy and pleasure 
when, in reality, they must have been wretched and miserable 
beyond expression. Bravely they hid their feelings and danced 
about, throwing their arms into the a;ir, and screaming shrilly, 
perhaps in this way venting their grief, as one after another of 



34 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

their infants were cast into the waters of the lake, to the waiting, 
greedy animals. The crowd watched with fascinated eyes the 
little black bodies disappear into the cavernous mouths of the 
crocodiles, leaving a long stain of crimson blood dyeing the 
waters of the lake. Distinctly on shore could be heard the 
monsters as they cracked the bones of the unfortunate babes, 
whose pitiful cries of pain might well have touched a heart 
of iron ; and all the time the mothers danced and sang merrily. 
At last it was over, and only the eager eyes and cruel heads 
of the monsters looking for more prey to devour, and the 
blood-reddened waters bathing the shores, remained to tell of 
the scene just enacted. 

Though I was young, and accustomed to terrible scenes, 
yet when this scene was pictured to me, I remember that I 
felt a throb of something very like pity, as I thought of those 
poor women who had sacrificed the lives of their babes, but as 
I write about it now, man grown as I am, it comes to my mind 
with all its fearful significance, I cannot keep back the tears. 
May the one just, kind, and merciful God free my native land 
from a custom so horrible ! May He endow me with such 
strength and grace that I shall be able to help in abolishing a 
system so cruel and debased. 

May the Divine Spirit take possession of the hearts of many 
men and women, till they feel called upon to go out into my 
land as missionaries, teaching the misguided people of Him 
who is the embodiment of love and tenderness and gentleness ; 
and asks not the babe of its mother, nor the son of his father, 
nor the wife of her husband, in horrible sacrifice ; but asks 
only for the love and consecration of the human heart to him- 
self, and the enlargement and enlightenment of the soul in 
Jesus Christ, our dear Lord and Saviour. Africa has been well 
explored and lakes and rivers geographically placed, but it will 
be many a year before all the dark portions of Africa will be 
warmed into life by the sun of Christianity. 

It happened that mother and Taradobah had influence 
enough with father to cause him to change his mind in regard 
to sending me to the mission ; and mother told me how grate- 
ful I should be to the gods who had favored me, and answered 
my supplications. I was very grateful and happy indeed, to 
escape from the terrible, I knew not what, fate awaiting me, as 
I believed, in the mysterious land of the white man. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 35 

One of my brothers, Geesah, however, a fine-looking boy, 
much older than I was, by the advice of a trader was sent to 
England, to a preparatory school. I believe he proved himself 
wonderfully quick and capable, and it was not long before he 
was able to enter Oxford or some European College, which he 
did. How much I pitied him, and condoled with him upon 
his fate ; and how much I admired his seeming carelessness 
of what awaited him in the "strange land," and his courage 
in attempting it. On the morning of his departure I said adieu 
to him with tears in my eyes, for I believed that I would never 
see him in life again, and I was most fond of him. 

His life and the lives of the whole family will be written 
during my college hfe. The name of the book will be, " The 
House of the Black Princes." 

After that, several times, father threatened to send me to the 
mission — word synonymous, in my childish mind, with every 
terrible and unknown horror of all kinds, descriptions, and de- 
grees. Each time mother and Taradobah persuaded him to 
alter his decision; but I began to Hve in constant dread of 
being sent away, and was overjoyed when, along with four 
hundred boys of my own age, /. e., eleven or twelve years of 
age, it was agreed that I should be sent away to an isolated 
African school, from which I could not return till I was old 
enough to fight, and to understand the war and law principles 
of my tribe. 



36 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER IV. 

"The poorest education that teaches self-control, is better than 
the best that neglects it." — Herting. 

HUNTING SCENE. 

" The blood more stirs to rouse a lion 
Than to start a hare ! " 

— Skakes^eare, 

AFRICAN SCHOOL LIFE. 

To this African school I went with the utmost thankfulness 
and joy. I was to be with my own people, and not with a 
strange, dreaded kind of whom I knew nothing. I was to 
continue my friendship with my young companions for many 
years more. How happy I was ! The school was on a 
peninsula, far away from all human habitation. I would have 
no intercourse with my mother for many years. I would 
have no food sent me, and unless I could kill game, would be 
hungry many times ; our teachers had perfect and unlimited 
control over us, — they could treat us as they were pleased, and 
no one would interfere. But I cared not for all these things ; 
be my treatment ever so cruel and hard, I could bear it so long 
as it came from the hands of my own people, and not from the 
much-dreaded, often-threatened whites. 

It was a long, hard tramp of many days from Bendoo to 
the school, but I did not care for that. I rejoiced to cut my 
way through deep, tangled jungles and brush that might have 
daunted a strong man ; for every step I took forward was I not 
leaving that hated mission farther and farther behind? 

It makes me smile now when I look back at that time, and 
remember what an unceasing, powerful fear of the white peo- 
ple had taken possession of my mind and heart. 

We trudged along then right merrily, rather glorying in the 
cuts and bruises we received, and the aching weariness which 
we felt in our Hmbs. This was the first step toward becoming 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 37 

a brave and famous chief and a courageous hunter ; and to be- 
come these was, I may truly say, the height of my ambition. 

At night, when we swung our hammocks well up among the 
trees, I would lie and watch the red gleam of the camp fires, 
and dream wild, imaginative dreams of my future life. How 
I should become a king like my father, and subdue all the 
tribes around me ; nay, why not subdue all x^frica ? Africa was 
a very, very large and powerful country, father said ; then if it 
was once in my power, what should prevent me from capturing 
or annihilating white people? Ah ! thought that made me hide 
my face in my hands, and cower down in my hammock, and 
shudder at the sleepy cry of a parrot over my head, who was 
disturbed by the light of our camp-fires. 

Gradually the thoughts of fear would leave me, and I would 
look up and resume my dreams. Africa once in my possession, 
I would offer, oh ! so many hundreds and hundreds of sacrifices 
to the different gods, who would favor me specially because of 
them. I would build shrines of solid gold in honor of Carna- 
bah, and six sacrifices should be offered on them every day. I 
should have all the wives I wished, and they should be tall and 
beautiful Hke my mother and Taradobah. 

Ah, the battles I should fight ! I closed my eyes then, 
and lived over those battles in imagination, till my senses 
wandered and I fell asleep. 

We breakfasted off some fish or game we had caught, 
quaffed the water of a lake, and then resumed our march. At 
last, footsore and weary, we arrived at the peninsula (wrongly 
stated island in my first edition) where we were to remain for 
several years. We swam from the shore of the mainland to the 
peninsula. As soon as I landed on it I set out on a voyage of 
discovery, accompanied by several of my mates. There were 
on it no human beings but ourselves. 

At this place, in the first edition, a mistake occurred. In 
the original MSS. the distance was written in Persian parasangs, 
and the copyist in copying it, wrote it miles. She was not 
acquainted with Xenophon's Anabasis. Fifteen parasangs were 
given, but fifteen was omitted and parasangs left out, and 
miles put in ; it was simply a chirographical mistake. Fifteen 
parasangs would be about forty-five miles. You see here that 
I tried to show my classical tastes, and got into trouble. To 
resume my story : I heard the sound of the horn calling us 



38 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

together, and went hastily to the edge of the shore upon 
which we had landed. With us were our teachers, about fifty 
of them, large, strong, stern and valiant old warriors, whom 
father had considered worthy and had appointed to teach us. 

When I reached the shore I found them gathered in a 
group, talking earnestly among themselves. They commanded 
us to remain quiet, and we were still as a country church- 
yard. Not a sound was heard while Zolusingbe talked to 
us. He told us we had come there for three things, (i) 
To learn the code of law of our tribe. (2) To learn the art of 
fighting and war tactics. (3) To learn to show proper rever- 
ence to our gods, and be disciplined for the place in the army 
which we all desired to fill. If we were well-meaning and dili- 
gent we would be well treated, and consequently would be 
happy : but if we were lazy or disobedient, the same punish- 
ments would await us for both as had awaited us in Bendoo. 

The other teachers followed with like addresses ; then we 
were permitted to rove whither we would, till the sound of 
Zolusingbe's horn should call us to the place from which the 
sound proceeded. 

It was very pleasant and exciting to explore the depths of a 
forest that was new to us ; and what could be more interesting 
a place than a luxuriant tropical forest, with its spontaneous 
growth of delicious fruits, its nests of eggs, the minor game, the 
pools alive with fish of various kinds, and the magnificent trees 
often reaching a circumference of twelve feet, more or less. It 
was quite a feat to climb to the very topmost point of such a 
tree ; but we little fellows could climb like monkeys, and scaled 
gigantic trees with the ease of one, jumping from limb to limb 
with a recklessness that might have cost us our lives ; but lives 
were seldom lost in this way. 

The next day our duties began. Into our hands, such 
eager hands, too, as they were, were placed a bow and arrow. 
We were told that we had permission to shoot any lesser game 
that might cross our paths. What airs we gave ourselves ! and 
how proudly we set off on our first real hunting expedition ! 
Imagine a white boy given a weapon, and sent into the deep, 
dangerous forest to hunt, as a matter-of-course. It was in our 
school, as the alphabet is in yours, the rudiment, the founda- 
tion of an education, or what was considered by my people as 
an education. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 39 

We hunted all day. I had been luckier than the others, 
and at the shrill horn signal, that in the quiet reigning about 
us, when the boys' yells were lulled, could be heard for more 
than a mile away, I came back to the old men, dragging after 
me more game than any one of the other boys. For this, 
Zolusingbe patted me upon the head, and said I was a smart 
boy. I felt as proud as a king ; and though very tired after my 
day's hunt, was very happy, and ate some of the game, when 
cooked, with a relish. 

Zolusingbe was an old, grizzled war veteran, and from the 
beginning my favorite among all the others. He took much 
interest in me from the first, and showed me many favors ; not 
because I was a king's son, for rank counts nothing in our 
school ; but because he really liked me as much as I did 
him. 

He had a class numbering about fifty boys, of which I was 
pleased to be a member. For several hours every morning we 
would gather about him, and he would show us how to throw 
spears, and to use the sword in the most skillful manner ; how to 
use the bow and arrow with ease ; and with a gun he had as an 
object, he explained to us as best he could, that form of 
weapon, which, however, he called treacherous, and advised us 
to leave it alone. I think he took more pains in teaching us 
how to use our native weapon, the spear, and was very proud 
of us when we began to handle it with some degree of profi- 
ciency. Then in the afternoon we would hunt, and grave dis- 
pleasure would be visited upon us if we did not come back with 
as much game as he thought we ought to have. After supper, 
he would teach us war dances and songs ; we would practice 
target-shooting or spear-throwing ; and then, tired out, we were 
glad to crawl into our hammocks and fall fast asleep. And 
there was no let up on this regime — it was the same day after 
day. 

We soon found that we had not come to that spot for mere 
play and amusement ; but if we ever wanted to get through, 
we were obliged to work hard and earnestly, and practice with 
our weapons as often and as long as we could. It was hard. 
Often I grew so tired from practicing spear-throwing, that I 
almost wished to die ; but Zolusingbe and the other old chiefs 
had no mercy on us. and when we showed the least sign of 
weariness, called us lazy, and weak women-boys. Though tired 



4© FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

and sleepy, as we often were, our exercises and practicing went 
on the same as ever. 

A portion of our meals was always offered to the gods 
before we ate, and sometimes a whole carcass would be offered 
intact ; at home we also offered part of our meal to the Pa- 
nates. Each boy in turn would be obliged to conduct the 
sacrificial ceremonies, and dance and clap and sing the praises 
of the gods till Zolusingbe gave him permission to stop. We 
used to dread this, for the chiefs would grow very angry with 
us if we didn't follow their teachings of these rites to the letter. 

One year passed in this way ; and though it was a hard, 
taxing one, as I look back upon it I reahze that it was far from 
being an unhappy one to me. Our year equals about 200 days. 

Those dear, happy days of my boyhood ! 

At the beginning of the second year we had mock battles. 
Half of the boys, about two hundred, would form one tribe, and 
the other half would represent another and hostile one. The 
woods were cleared by us, with the help of the men, and a cer- 
tain number of acres of land was divided off from that adjoin- 
ing. This land was the supposed territory of one half the boys, 
and the hostile tribe was desirous of obtaining it, and were 
going to use harsh means to get it into their possession. The 
captain of each detachment was selected by lot, and the boy 
who was a coward was not allowed to have lots cast for him ; 
only a boy of stamina and character can be voted for as 
captain. 

The mock battle often became one of terrible reality, and 
the boys fought and punched and bit one another, and laboring 
under the stress of an excited imagination that made the ficti- 
tious seem truth, would separate only when some of the men 
tore them apart. If the attacking party drove the others off 
the land, it was considered a distinguished honor, and the boys 
would be praised and feasted, much to the chagrin and disgust 
of the other half, who would sulk and scowl sometimes for 
days. If the attacking parties were repulsed six times, then the 
victory belonged to the other side, and it was their turn to be- 
come jubilant, while the other boys went about in seeming 
disgrace and discomfort. 

You can imagine these mimic wars were very exciting, and 
in them we put into practice, one by one, the war tactics of our 
tribe, as fast as they were taught us. The first war tactic we 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 41 

learned was the manner in which to besiege a town. We 
learned that nearly all African towns were strongly fortified ; 
sometimes having, like our own town, two fortifications, an 
inner and an outer one, besides a deep, wide ditch. In such a 
case, when the enemy could fire upon us while we were cross- 
ing the ditch or scaling the wall, especially if they were a tribe 
who used powder and shot, and could kill many of us before 
we could enter their town, the better way would be to build a 
wall about the town, and within the wall build little houses or 
towers, cut the enemy off from the water which supplied the 
town, and keep them shut up in it till their provisions are gone, 
and they are nearly dying of thirst. Then, nine cases out of 
every ten, when greatly moved by hunger or thirst, they will sur- 
render ; if not, they are too weak to fight well ; and a deter- 
mined attack upon their barricades, and storming of their walls, 
will conquer them. If you fail, then retreat ; and when the 
enemy is not looking for you, when it is thundering, raining, or 
so dark that your moving figures cannot be seen, then creep 
upon them and renew the attack. Again, it is extremely likely 
that you will take the town. 

■ This was the first tactic that we learned and put into practice ; 
surrounding the boys and keeping them without food for many 
days, till through sheer hunger they were glad to surrender and 
own themselves defeated. However, sometimes they would 
drive us backward, and keep us off till some of the men de- 
clared they had gained the day. I say ''us," because I was 
usually in the attacking party. 

Second tactic we learned after having mastered the first, was 
the following : "Arrange your men," said Zolusingbe, speaking 
as if we were all going to be generals in our time, '' four or five 
miles from the town in a circle, then let a small posse of men 
attack the town, pretend to grow fearful and flee. The enemy, 
in chasing them, will g^t in between your men, who will close 
in upon them before they realize what is taking place, and so 
surprise them that their defeat is almost certain." 

This, too, we put into practice exactly as Zolusingbe described 
it ; and I remember how he called us all about him that night, 
and told us that we were brave boys, and got his ideas very 
quickly and well. Ah, how proud we were then ! For my own 
part I seemed to be treading on air; and the dreams of glory 
that came to me in my hammock that evening were more 



42 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

mighty and grand than ever before. There were other worlds 
besides Africa, Zolusingbe told us ; why should I not conquer 
them? Though I didn't know about Alexander at the time, 
surely my youthful spirit was very much like Alexander's in its 
ambitions. 

Over and over again we applied these war principles ; and it 
was not till toward the close of the third year that the third 
tactic was taught to us ; and the men called it taking the town 
by stealth, or stealing the town. 

A man is sent into the town under the guise of a friend, bear- 
ing a friendly message, telhng them he has come from a district 
or tribe from which he has not. He asks for a place to rest, tell- 
ing them he is weary. Then, at night, he steals upon the sen- 
tinel at one of the gates, and disposes of him, if he can (and 
only men who are likely to be successful on such an undertak- 
ing are sent), and opens the gates for the army outside, who 
steal in upon the town, and take possession of its supplies, 
while its inhabitants are sleeping They give the war-cry 
then : "Ticihiah arcu, ticihiah doobur," meaning, "We are here, 
we are here." Then we begin the siege. Each man of the 
attacking party must take a house, and is supposed to conquer 
its inhabitants. The contest may last for twenty-four hours, — 
a hand-to-hand fight, — and, of course, victory is a fickle jade, 
crowning sometimes one tribe and then another. Like school- 
girls' love — she soon finds another fellow. I can tell from my 
own experience. 

Two years of our time passed ; and we considered ourselves 
as proficient in the use of the different weapons as it was pos- 
sible for any one to be. This was very boy-like ; we had come 
to that point in our lives when we thought we knew it all, and 
what we didn't know wasn't worth knowing. The men looked 
on and smiled, and indulged and encouraged this self-conceit 
we had, instead of trying to smother it. I think they thought 
that conceit was the salt of character; without a little of it, 
men didn't amount to very much, after all. But our preten- 
sions to excellence and strength were put to the test m the fol- 
lowing fashion : the boys were made to stand side by side, 
directly opposite the same number of chiefs. One boy at a 
time came forward and wrestled with the chief. If the chief 
put the boy down very easily then he was declared weak, and 
could not be advanced with his training, but began again on 



1 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 43 

some of the principles he had been over ; but if the chief had 
some difficulty in putting down a boy, the boy was promoted, 
and this continued down the line till each boy's strength was 
tested in this way. Fortunately, or so I considered it, I not 
only was not downed, but came within an inch of tripping Zolu- 
singbe, with whom I was wrestling. My strength — and for a 
boy, I was wonderfully strong — pleased and delighted him, and 
he sent a message to my father to the effect that I was his best 
and favorite pupil. Father sent word back that he was de- 
lighted with my progress and very proud of me ; and I'll wager 
he was not half as proud of me as I was of myself. After our 
strength had been tried, our endurance was tested in a very 
cruel way. We were made to stand back to a chief, who, with a 
stout, tough piece of leather, with thorns stuck jaggedly into it, 
gave us a prescribed number of lashes. Those of us who bore 
the treatment without flinching, were declared brave boys who 
could go on ; those who winced, or moaned, or cried out were 
dubbed cowards, and never afterwards looked upon with proper 
respect or affection. Poor fellows ! I do not wonder that 
some of them begged for mercy, for many of us will bear to our 
graves the marks of the blows received in school, given when 
our enduring powers were tested. My own back was pitifully 
sore for many days ; but I made no sign, and practiced as long 
and as faithfully as ever at target-shooting, running, and jump- 
ing. Zolusingbe was watching me narrowly, I knew; and I 
would have died, one, yes, a hundred deaths, sooner than show 
to him that I suffered one particle of pain from my scabbed, 
aching back. Yet only God knows what I did suffer ; and in- 
stead of bright dreams of future conquest coming to me that 
night in my hammock, I lay on my face and bit my lips till the 
blood came, to keep back the groans that rose to my lips, 
while the scalding tears poured down, unheeded, over my 
cheeks. I was only a little fellow, and though I despised 
myself for my tears, I pitied myself, and they would flow. In 
the morning, however, brave as the Spartan boy of whom we 
read in Grecian history, I was up and at my duties, with a smile 
upon my lips. 

Here, for the first time, Zolusmgbe grew vexed and dis- 
pleased with me. I have told you of the gun which he had. 
It always hung in his hut of tree leaves and bamboo which the 
chiefs had built for their use. I was, and ha.d always been, 



44 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

very anxious to handle this gun, and see if I could fire it off as 
Zolusingbe had done for my amusement on rare occasions. 
One day he was going to the mainland with another chief to 
hunt. I watched the canoe that held him out of sight, then 
stealthily and like a thief, I crept into his hut, got possession of 
the gun, ran to the shore, and jumping into a canoe, paddled 
swiftly out into the middle of the lake. As I paddled along 
about three miles beyond the peninsula I overtook a canoe full 
of men evidently of a strange tribe. The canoe was loaded with 
oranges and bananas. Seeing me, a boy alone in a canoe, they 
concluded they would have some fun at my expense, and began 
to call back to me in a tongue, that, without being exactly famil- 
iar, was intelligible, extremely insulting words. I felt my blood 
begin to boil with rage, and called back to them that they had 
better be silent or they would suffer the penalty ; they laughed 
me to scorn, and continued their insulting expressions. I saw 
a large water-bird flying low before their canoe, and, in an 
authoritative way, demanded them to cease paddling, and not 
scare the bird. They kept on, answering my command with a 
contemptuous laugh. While their laugh was yet sounding I 
brought the gun to my shoulder and took deliberate aim at the 
tallest paddler. Terrified at sight of a gun, which by many 
African men, was looked upon as you would the devil him- 
self, they, like one man, leaped from the canoe overboard, just 
as I fired it off. 

When they rose to the surface they were not out of gun shot, 
and were swimming for the shore as rapidly as they could. I took 
their canoe in tow, and paddled back to the peninsula flushed 
and elated with victory. I found Zolusingbe waiting for me. 
His face was ominous as a thunder-cloud, and I trembled 
when I heard the sound of his voice, which was like that of 
father Zeus. Where, he asked me, where had I been ; and how 
came I by his gun ? When out on the lake in canoes, we were 
not allowed to go out of sight of the peninsula, and I had been 
three miles out of sight. I told him briefly. I think if he had 
liked me less, he would instantly have put me to death, which 
he was at liberty to do, and which would have keenly disgraced 
the name of Besolow. But he loved me, he expected great 
things of me, so he spared my life, upon my firm promise that I 
would never, as long as I lived, disobey a su])erior. As it was, 
I had the wounds on my sore back opened afresh, and was tied 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 45 

to a post hand and foot for three days, without food and drink. 
I cannot describe the state of my feehngs. Miserable, wretched, 
— I wanted to die. What was there to Hve for now? 

Zolusingbe would never care for me more. But Zolusingbe 
was magnanimous, and he took me to his heart again ; and 
from the minute he cut me down from the post, weak, and 
sore, and fainting, and fed me on cocoanut milk, till the day 
I left him forever, he never referred to my one serious mis- 
demeanor while at school. You must not let the word school 
mislead you, for these are things that were done in jungles. 



46 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER V. 



THE GORILLA. 



"II n'est de serpent ni de monstre odieux. 
Qui par I'art imite ne puisse plaire aux yeux." 

— Boileau. 

"Cowards die manj' times before their deaths; 
The valiant never taste of death but once." 

— Julius CcBsar. 

HUNTING SCENE — ANIMALS. 

For six months we practiced using the weapons of our tribe, 
and reviewed the war tactics, which I have explained to you 
besides many more too numerous to mention. We went on 
several tiger hunts with the men, and watched them and their 
methods of disposing of those savage beasts. 

The sight of the prey, brought to bay in a jungle, as he 
turned upon us with his flashing, fiery eyes, showing his teeth 
in a fierce grin, and lashing his tail backward and forward rap- 
idly in his rage, fired my blood, and excited me as nothing else 
had ever done ; and I begged Zolusingbe to let me dispatch 
him. 

" You ! " he said, in amazement, looking down upon me 
from his lofty height, with fine scorn — " you ! " 

"Yes," I answered, boldly, grasping my spear more firmly. 
" I am sure that I can kill him." 

With a laugh, he waved me to a place behind him, and I 
had the satisfaction of seeing the foaming beast killed by one 
of the oldest chiefs. 

One of the boys skinned the animal ; and the process of 
removing the skin neatly from the animals was an act that we 
also learned while at school, beginning first to practice upon 
the smaller animals. The skin was a very handsome one, — 
the handsomest, I think, that I ever saw, — and when it was 
well dried and dressed it was sent home to my father, with the 
compliments of him who had killed the beast. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 47 

We were taken on several such hunting expeditions, to get 
used to the ways and tricks of the ferocious inhabitants of 
woods and forests ; but, as the men said, that manner of hunt- 
ing was mere play, and that the following year, when we were 
stronger and better fitted for the work, they would show us 
what a real African hunt meant. One day they set us at work 
digging near the centre of the deep forest. We dug a pitfall 
under their direction, seventy or eighty feet long, twenty-five 
or thirty feet wide, and about eight feet deep. It was not 
easy work, toiling for many days under the hot, broiling African 
sun, but we dared make no complaint ; and then, besides, some 
pleasure was derived from the thought that we were making 
preparations for, as Zolusingbe said, " a real African hunt," in 
which the bravest of us were to take part. At least, this was 
an impetus for me to work. Every spadeful of snarled, rooty 
earth I cast one side, I would think, was a-helping on the time 
when I should really stand a truly developed hunter. Just as 
when we have a long walk before us, we fix our eyes on a cer- 
tain object ahead and say, " Now, when I reach that, I shall 
have so far finished my journey," and continue in this way till 
the journey is over. 

The pitfall we dug was capable of holding a great number 
of animals. At each end of the pit we laid the trunks of big 
trees, and also placed them about the sides ; in this way form- 
ing around it a kind of fence. Then, under the dictation of 
the old men, — practical hunters they were, too, — we built, in a 
more or less workmanlike manner, two fences of triangular 
shape, the pit being the apex. These fences we built of stones, 
tree-trunks and branches. These fences were about a mile 
in length, and at the extremities, I think, quite a mile apart. 

It was a month and over before we had completed our 
work, but when finished at length we surveyed our architectural 
attempt with infinite pride and pleasure, and I for one forgot 
that I was weary and that my arms ached. 

One fair, warm day, Zolusingbe put our spears into our 
hands, and told us that we would that day put our knowledge 
of them into practice in a manner that would doubtless cost 
many of us our lives. He charged us to be careful, and gave 
us many directions, too many to enumerate. We were a goodly 
number, about two hundred of us, and were separated into divi- 
sions, each division commanded by one of the old chiefs. 



48 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

We turned out and surrounded the forest as well as we could. 
Then by all sorts of stratagems and tricks we tried to decoy the 
animals Into the space between the fences. It was many hours 
before we had succeeded in accomplishing this, for the animals 
were very wary, and doubled on their tracks and ran into am- 
bush in a manner that was very exasperating. As for me, I 
could scarcely contain myself, I was so excited. 

Only my fear of Zolusingbe, and that he would send me 
back to the encampment if I was too eager, saved me from 
attacking the animals before they were gotten between the 
fences. At last, however, many of them were worried into the 
space intended for them, and we formed a phalanx across the 
broad opening. At a word of command from the chief in 
charge we advanced towards the pit in large numbers, thus 
driving the animals forward. 

A heterogeneous collection enough they were too, consist- 
ing of zebras, antelope, deer, and wild-cats, and many smaller 
animals. 

In the narrow part of the triangle the sides of the fence were 
built very strong, so that the frantic efforts of the animals to 
escape by pressing their bodies against the sides could be of 
no avail. At length they entered, a heterogeneous mass, the 
narrowest part of the triangle, and the pit gaped open, a grave, 
before them. 

At a word from the chief, we charged forward in a furious 
manner, yelling and brandishing our weapons, and terrified the 
animals to such an extent that they rushed onward blinded 
with fear, and fell headlong, one after another, into the pit. It 
was of no use for the foremost ones to hold back, as doubtless 
many of them did, for the pushing, rushing mass behind would 
force them in. In a very brief space of time the pit was quite 
full of groaning, fighting, growling, dead, and dying animals. 
By running over the bodies of the other animals, when the pit 
had become full, some of the beasts escaped, others turned and 
endeavored to break through the ranks of our advancing party, 
but they were quickly disposed of. Their bold dash for the 
life and liberty so sweet to them, availed them naught. 

I shall never forget the moment when I first came up with- 
m a few yards of the pitfall. In it the animals growled and 
raged and squirmed and fought each other, in a manner that 
might have caused the stoutest heart to fail, and grow sick 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 49 

with fear ; but fear I did not know at that time, nor does an 
African native on the hunt ever know, there is such an 
emotion. 

The unfortunate animals were interlocked ; some lay on 
their backs as they had fallen, with their feet kicking frantically 
in the air ; of others all that could be seen was a head, with a 
pair of wild, affrighted eyes, rolling rapidly from side to side. 
A tail was all that was visible of some, a foreleg of another, and 
a narrow piece of flank of others again. 

It was a horrible sight, and I shudder now as I think of that 
bloody, snaky, writhing mass of flesh and blood, but at the time 
I thought it was a fine, grand sight ; and my face was wreathed 
with smiles, my heart was full of satisfaction, when the old chief 
told us to advance to the edge of the pit and dispose of them. 
He told us to be cautious ; but I think little caution was 
observed by any of us, as we began to despatch the animals in 
a more or less scientific way. We drew out the dead and 
wounded, and disposed of those beneath, and went on in this 
manner till all were dead or rendered too helpless to attack us. 
They were not all destroyed, however, without many of the 
boys losing their lives ; for those animals fought for their lives, 
even those of them who were naturally timid, with a persistency 
and fierceness at once wonderful and pitiful to see. One of the 
chiefs lost his footing and fell in among them, and before we 
could help him he was torn almost to pieces. I regret to say 
that once again I am obliged to call the attention of my kind 
reader to a mistake made in the former edition, in this place, 
by the party who cut the book down. The book spoke of a 
tiger being caught in the pit along with other animals, and said 
that the unfortunate man described in the foregoing sentence 
was torn to pieces by it. This was not true. There was no 
tiger in the pit. Whenever a tiger was trapped in a hunting 
excursion of this kind, we boys were quick to allow him to es- 
cape through our circle. We didn't often trap one on the 
peninsula, but did quite frequently when we hunted on the 
mainland, and of course we hunted indiscriminately on both 
places. 

After we had havocked all the game, we set to work, and, 
reeking with the blood of our slain victims, buht immense bon- 
fires, in preparation of a feast we were to enjoy. We cooked 
some of the animals that were eatable, and partook of their 



50 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

flesh greedily, for we were hungry after our long day's hunt. 
After that we howled, and danced, and sang the hunting songs 
we had been taught, at the very tops of our voices. 

We offered several carcasses to the gods, and those that 
were valuable for their hide we skinned, under the direction of 
Zolusingbe and the rest of the men. 

Loaded with all the game we could carry, we wended our 
way towards the shore and our encampment, still yelling out our 
hunting songs and rejoicing. 

We were summoned up before our teachers, who com- 
mended some of us specially for our bravery and the facility 
with which we handled our weapons. I was one of those to be 
commended for courage, and ah, what a moment of triumph 
that was ! And how the hammock dream that night grew in 
magnitude, till the world, were it fifty times as large as it is, 
would be none too large to hold the Utopian castles I built. 

They were sad dreams, too, for I was inclined to mourn for 
my young companions who had met their death that day. I 
wondered if they were at Igenie or at Cayanpimbi. I wished 
that I were able to offer many offerings to the gods in their 
behalf. 

I spoke to Zolusingbe the next day of my grief for them, 
and he was very angry with me. " If you are a woman," he 
said, "you had better return to Bendoo, and confine yourself 
to womanly duties, and give up all thoughts of becoming a 
warrior and a hunter ; for silly regrets have no place in the 
hearts of such." 

It must have been amusing to see the airs we boys gave 
ourselves for many days after our first hunt ; and indeed we 
were fond of strutting. When the hunt was an old story, as it 
soon became, Zolusingbe was fond of telling me that I was a 
hero, because I was more agile and proficient than all the 
others. Zolusingbe favored me, perhaps. However, I know I 
loved to hunt, and put into it all my heart and strength. 

Some days we went out to hunt on the mainland especially 
for larger game. Then the pit was filled in, so as not to be so 
deep ; and then we set out to snare the elephant and buffalo, 
whose weight prevented them from leaping from the pit when 
once in it. Hunting for elephants is done by the most experi- 
enced of hunters. We boys were mere onlookers, so that by 
observation we might acquire knowledge of hunting. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 5 1 

These larger animals were havocked in a similar manner, 
with still greater danger to the hunter ; for an enraged elephant 
is indeed a mighty enemy, and swings around its trunk in a 
manner that causes the attacking party to keep at a very civil 
distance. It used to take us a long time to kill an elephant, 
especially where we had no other weapon but the spear. They 
were so immense that sometimes it was a long time before the 
spear would strike a vulnerable spot ; and we didn't try hard to 
hit it in a vital spot, for we rather enjoyed to see it suffer, and 
to see, also, the frightful rage that every fresh blow lashed it 
into. So it suffers long and most cruelly before it finally 
receives the blow that takes away its noble life. 

We used to consider the elephant a rare prize when we 
were so fortunate as to entrap one, because of its tusks, out of 
which, as I dare say you are very well aware, some of the 
very finest ivory in the world is made. When we had collected 
a goodly number of tusks, they were sent to Bendoo to be 
traded off for rum or tobacco. Then, the elephant's flesh was 
eaten by us with much enjoyment. 

These pitfalls which we dug in the woods for hunting 
purposes were a source of much anxiety to travelers, who never 
knew when they would be precipitated into one of them at the 
imminent risk of life and limb ; and especially dangerous are 
they at night. 

They often become overgrown with vines and tangled 
creeping grasses, and one does not know that he is in the 
vicinity of them till he goes crashing through the vines and 
lands at the bottom of the pit. 

I remember how the chiefs taught us boys to tell when 
a pit was near us, by observing a certain hollow sound in the 
ground under foot ; but it was very difficult to catch this nice 
little distinction in sound, and only the trained and the prac- 
ticed ear of some old hunter could do so. 

All our time was now spent in hunting game. All day long, 
for week after week, we were constantly testing the principles 
taught us. The enthusiasm of the men fired us to do brave 
deeds, and prove that the pupil was worthy of his teacher, and 
each teacher was especially anxious that the boys under his 
particular charge should do as well as lay in their power. 
They were eager to hunt as we were, and we had always living 
examples of courage and valor. I think, excepting war^ 



52 



FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



there is nothing a Vey man loves so much as he does the 
chase. 

Whether we hunted alone or in companies, — and we did so 
in the latter way more often, — but no matter in what way we 
hunted, no matter for what we hunted, large game or small 
game, we entered into it with a thorough heartiness and enjoy- 
ment worthy of a better cause. Such a wonderful variety ot 
game, too, as we stirred up in that thick, moist, luxuriant 
forest's depths ! I think a greater variety was found there than 
could be found in any other country in the world. 

There were antelopes from the largest to the smallest kind, 
zebras with their handsome striped coats, giraffes, lions, and 
elephants. Every lake and river teemed with fierce, strange 
animals ; even the trees seemed alive with them, and every 
jungle was occupied by them. 

As I grew older I particularly liked to hunt the antelope. 
There was somehow or other a zest about it which was missing 
in the hunt for all other animals. They were very sharp and 
wary, and had a curious way of lying all huddled together in 
such a manner that they resembled nothing so much, from a 
httle distance, as a pile of dried grass and withered leaves. So 
much did they resemble these things that I have known even 
the keen, practiced eye of Zolusingbe to be deceived by them. 

They ran very fleetly, and seemed to have a really wonder- 
ful agility in dodging the spear, and bow and arrow. I used to 
say that they ran in between the arrows, for they were of slender 
build. 

I was never easily discouraged, but persevered till I brought 
down the animal ; for after a certain Hmit the animal grew very 
tired, always, often lying down in sheer exhaustion, permitting 
us to come up and dispatch it without a sign. 

It is an animal that can live for a long time without water. 
With a wonderful instinct, it used to lead me through the hot- 
test and dryest parts of the country, in which there would be 
no springs or water ; and often I would become so thirsty that 
I would be obliged to return to Zolusingbe empty-handed. 

I was taught to regard the horns of the antelope with special 
reverence, for they were the receptacle in which were placed 
the panates and talismans, and we boys regarded them with 
great admiration, as the men scraped and polished them. 
They are also useful in trade. I believe they bring a good 
price in this country, as well as in my own. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 53 

The antelope is very gentle and timid, but when brought to 
bay will turn on its pursuer, to fight for life. 

I remember once how one of them turned suddenly on me, 
when I had hedged it in in such a manner that it could not 
escape. It lowered its head very nearly to the ground, and 
directed its horns towards me, and charged upon me, endeavor- 
ing to lift me on its horns and gore me through and through. 
These horns were sharp as knives, pointed as needles, and if 
the animal had succeeded in lifting me upon them, I shouldn't 
be here to tell the tale. I moved to the right as it came rapidly 
forward, and as it passed me by, planted a spear in its side. It 
fell, moaned in a very human way, and after wagging its head 
to and fro, it gave a final gasp, rolled over and died. 

Thinking over all the narrow escapes I had while in that 
school, I think God must have meant to save my life because 
he had some work for me to do. 

I have told you how the elephant wended his mighty way 
through the depths of the wood, in the thick jungles, under 
which lay hidden venomous reptiles, which seemed ready and 
waiting always to spring upon the unthinking and unwary one. 
As I lay in my hammock at night I often heard the roar of 
majestic lions, within gun-shot. Tigers lay all day couchant 
upon the tree-hmbs. 

The forest was not a pleasant place nor a safe place in which 
to travel ; but for myself, who was a born lover of adventure 
and excitement, there could be no place like it in all the world. 

Gaily plumaged birds, whose tinted feathers far outrivaled 
the hues of the rainbow in beauty and variety of color, flew 
from tree to tree. These birds were very handsome and gor- 
geous, and there were many sweet songsters among them, some 
of which would rival the nightingale. 

The parrot, for which I always had a strong admiration, 
was as common as the bird you call the English sparrow ; and 
the monkey as common as a cat, as they jabbered and chat- 
tered all day long in their funny, noisy way ; and often have I 
been awakened in the morning by one of these mischievous 
little fellows throwing wild plums down upon my head. I won- 
der now why it was they didn't crack my head open ; as it was, 
such a mode of waking me from my slumbers made my head 
pretty sore and did not improve my temper. 



54 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER VI. 

RETURN TO BENDOO. 

" Such joj ambition finds." 

— Milton. 
*' All praised the legend more or less ; 
Some thought it better, and some worse 
Than other legends of the past." 

— Tales of a Wayside Inn. 

THE GORILLA. — A GORILLA STORY. 

In the densest part of the forest the dreaded gorilla Hved. 
It may well have been dreaded. From the top of a high tree 
I saw one about this time, and my heart beat most rapidly at 
the sight. This one was over six feet in height, and apparently 
very strong, for it went crashing its way through the thick 
undergrowth of shrubs and bushes as if they had been so much 
grass. I was all alone and unarmed, and I knew if it spied me 
my life was over. I scarcely seemed to breathe ; but in some 
way it seemed to reahze that another presence besides its own 
was in the neighborhood, and paused and struck a listening 
attitude. Then it slowly advanced in my direction, till it stood 
directly under the tree where I was. I called upon the gods to 
save me, and my prayer ran somewhat in this fashion : " Hear 
thou me, O Silver Bow ! If my grandfather and grandmother, 
if my father and mother, have at any time offered unto thee the 
carcasses of fat animals, burnt for thee the fat thigh of many 
bulls and rams ; if they have at any time done anything for 
thee gracefully, oh, then hear me, Carnabah, and avert from me 
this direful destruction which is threatening me." I cannot tell 
you all the offers I made to them of coming sacrifices. I 
begged them to send Zolusingbe or some of the men to my 
rescue ; but he did not discover my presence, and after a httle 
while disappeared into the thickest of the jungle. I was not 
long in scrambling down off the tree and making my way to 
the camp, where I related the story, embellishing it till some of 
the boys got the impression, I think, that I had had a single- 
handed contest with Mr. Gorilla, and with one hand strangled 
him with all the ease in the world. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 55 

One of the chiefs promised to tell us a gorilla story that had 
been handed down to us from our ancestors of a hundred years 
ago ; some night, he said, when we had been hunting hard 
all day, and were resting about the camp-fires. A gorilla 
grows from five to six feet, and walks erect. Its arms when 
outspread measure from seven to nine feet. You can imagine 
what a formidable animal it is to meet when unarmed, or 
indeed at any time. They are as strong, if not stronger, than 
the lion, and seem to have a special hatred for the human 
beings they so much resemble. Their claws are sharp as razors, 
and some of the claws are from two to two and a-half inches 
long ; and when the animal is excited it seems that the claws 
attain a greater length. 

It never gives a man time to think or collect his senses, but 
in most cases springs upon him at once, and almost crushes 
him to death in its ferocious embrace. I remember a boy of 
the school — a tall, straight, well-formed youth, — the son of one 
of father's prime councillors. He was a brave, fearless boy, 
and he and I were together a great deal, running races, canoe- 
ing, fishing, and hunting side by side. He, like myself, had 
most ambitious dreams and aspirations ; and as we trotted 
along together, or performed our varied duties, we would talk 
over the lives we had pictured to ourselves with much delight 
and eagerness. Poor Hingbe ! 

One morning his teacher sent him into the forest alone to 
cut rosewood for spear-handlcs. He was very neat about wood- 
cutting, and was often sent when they wanted nice wood to 
procure it. The picture of him as he stood beneath the trees, 
with the golden sunshine, sifted through the thickly interlaced 
tree-boughs, falling over his smooth, shining, naked body, that 
was held so proudly erect, is printed indelibly upon my mind ; 
his earnest eyes shining, a smile on his face, and his long, 
sharp spear gleaming in his hand as he listened to his teacher's 
directions. "Come here, Besolow," he said to me, just before 
starting, and willingly enough I obeyed him. With a smile he 
held out his hand and I put mine into it. This was a custom 
that was in vogue with us, and it did not strike me as bein^ 
very strange in him. He held my hand for some time. " I 
wish you were going, Besolow," he said ; " good-bye." " Good- 
bye, Hingbe," I answered, and I watched his sun-flecked, 
brown body till, singing a gay hunting song, he plunged into 
the thick woods, and was lost to sight. 



56 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

That day I spent out on the lake in my canoe fishing. 
When I went home at sunset and asked for my companion, 
they told me that he had not yet returned. 

We danced that night, and sang in honor of the moon, who 
was just showing a fine, silver rim of her face in the sky. All 
through the noise and hurly-burly — for noise was always, and is 
now, a necessary accompaniment to festivities of all kinds — I 
missed Hingbe, and wondered why he did not return. He had 
not come back when we retired for the night. His hammock 
hung next to mine, and I lay and watched it in the moonlight, 
as it swung idly backward and forward in the faint wind that* 
stirred the tree branches ever so faintly. Somehow I couldn't 
sleep for thinking of him, and I think I must have had a pre- 
sentiment of what was coming. 

The next day he did not return, nor the next ; on the fourth 
day a search party was organized to seek for him, and I was 
chosen as one of its number. All day we sought for him every- 
where, giving the peculiar call by which we made our where- 
abouts known to each other while separated in the forests. 

It was I who at last heard a strange, weak response coming 
from the deepest part of the forest at my right. The others 
did not hear it, but, guided by me, we made our way to the 
spot from which the faint cry had proceeded ; and oh, how I 
sicken at the thoughts this narrative calls to mind ! We found 
Hingbe, or what was left of him, in the lair of a gorilla. 

The animal, fiercest of its kind, sprang upon us, but was 
soon overpowered by numbers, and dispatched with haste ; and 
then we gave our attention to our companion, who was lying 
on a pile of leaves, and, though half eaten, was, God help him, 
not yet dead. I went up to him, and savage though I was at 
the time, and used, to sickening scenes of bloodshed of all 
kinds, I am not ashamed to say that I trembled with emotion 
and pity as I bent over the prostrate form of the boy, who, 
only a few days before, had bidden me good-bye so gaily, and 
had left me so strong and handsome and full of hfe. 

All the fingers of his hands had been bitten off, as had been 
also his toes ; one foot was partly devoured ; his nose was gone, 
and both liis ears, and his eyes had been dug from their sock- 
ets ; and, horrid thought — he still lived and suffered, as his 
moans foretold, lacerated over and over ! 

" Hingbe," I said, in a voice very soft and tender with pity, 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 57 

and a civilized brother coula not have felt more pity in his 
heart than I did in mine for him. 

Hingbe was taken away by the chiefs, and I never saw him 
again. In my first edition I am made to dispatch him myself; 
this was not true, and the misstatement came as other errors 
came, to which I have already called the reader's attention. 

It is a common thing when a man is suffering for him to re- 
quest his friends to kill him, and thus put him out of his 
misery. We regard the man who makes such a request as an 
honorable soul, and the one who does the deed as both an hon- 
orable man and a kind friend. It is deemed better to stop 
suffering even with death than to let it continue when there is 
no possibility of recovery. The fatal blow is given without a 
tremor, for we know the afflicted one is better out of his pain, 
and then, a savage man has not that keen perception of what is 
cruel and wrong that a civihzed man has. 

It was many weeks before the sorrow caused by his sad fate 
left my breast. It seemed to me no soul departing this life 
ever left behind a more sincere mourner ; my companion gone, 
even this savage life seemed robbed of much of its hght and 
joy. Poor Hingbe ! I sigh even now as I think about him. 

We dragged the gorilla's carcass home with us, and told the 
remainder of the party of Hingbe's melancholy fate. " Dread 
the gorilla," said Zolusingbe, "more than you do any other 
animal in the world. It is exceedingly cruel. It loves to tor- 
ture its victims. In its hideous, crushing arms it will bear 
them to its lair, and with a cry that sounds peculiarly human 
will call its mate and young about them. The unfortunate 
man or woman who has fallen into the gorilla's power is grad- 
ually destroyed, and sometimes has the misery of seeing his 
limbs torn from his body." 



58 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

A person rescued from a gorilla is, in nine cases out of ten, 
literally half destroyed. Rescuing parties must always number 
fifty or sixty men, at least, for one gorilla is equal to any twenty 
men ; and when attacked, by a strange call, attracts others of 
its kind to its help ; and they fight in a manner that causes 
many a one to lose his life. 

After Hingbe's fate, I dreaded meeting the gorilla as I had 
areaded — yes, and did still dread — meeting a white man. The 
two were synonymous horrors to my mind and imagination. 

While the excitement concerning Hingbe was still rife in 
our hearts, an old, dried up, weazened chief told us the prom- 
ised gorilla story one night, as we all rested about the camp- 
fires. It was one known to all the members of my tribe, and 
was believed in firmly, as well. 

I sat with my arms about my legs, which were huddled up 
till they met my chin, and listened to his words with the 
greatest eagerness. As he talked he would look around him 
in a nervous manner, and then, with a shiver, would stir the 
fire at which he sat into a brighter blaze, and hold over the 
flames his long claws, that had, indeed, lost all seeming sem- 
blance to hands. This chief claimed to be over one hundred 
and twenty-five years of age. In appearance, he certainly 
looked it ; but his strength and endurance were both those of 
a man of fifty. 

" Over a hundred years ago," said Keetsie, " a certain king 
of Vey had a very beautiful wife ; she was his favorite wife, and 
he loved her better than all the others. She was faithful to him, 
and seemed to return his affections. One day she was missing 
from the town, and could be found nowhere. It was learned 
that, at an early hour in the morning, one of the men had seen 
what he supposed to be a huge gorilla, on the edge of the 
forest adjoining the town. There was no doubt, then, either in 
the mind of the king or the minds of his people, that the 
loved one, the favorite one, had been taken away by the gorilla, 
and was even at the time suffering tortures. 

" A body of men, as well armed and equipped as though 
they were going to war, started for the woods, which they 
searched carefully for many days without avail ; and, at last, 
upon finding no trace of her whereabouts, they were obliged 
to give up the search, and come home without her. The king 
mourned for her many months, but at last became reconciled to 
what was inevitable. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 59 

"Two years afterwards, when he and his men were return- 
ing from a hunting expedition through the thick forest, they 
came accidently upon somebody's hut — whose, at the time, 
they were much puzzled to know. It was of mud, and quite 
well and strongly built. 

'• They marvelled at finding a human habitation in the very 
heart of a dense forest such as this one was. They entered it, 
and one of them who claimed to do so, was the old chief who 
was telhng the story. He stirred the fire into a brisker blaze, 
and looked behind him in a manner that made us huddle closer 
to him. The hut, he said, contained two stools : and on the 
walls hung cooking utensils similar to their own. 

" As they were making these examinations and wondering 
among themselves who could be the occupant of this lonely 
abode, they were startled by a shrill, queer cry not far away — 
a cry that chilled the blood in their veins. It was the cry of a 
gorilla. ' Oho, oho, oho, yahco, yahco, yahco' ; and the very 
leaves from the trees fell. There were but few of them, the old 
chief said, throwing on the fire several extra logs, but they were 
quite well armed. They drew together as they passed out, and 
alert and in readiness for battle, awaited developments. 

"An immense male gorilla came in sight, with his arms 
loaded with wild cocoanuts. At sight of his uninvited guests, 
the animal stopped for a moment, amazed ; and then, with a howl 
of rage, began to throw the hard cocoanuts into the midst of 
the men, with quick, unerring aim, and with a force that was 
terrific enough to knock some of the men senseless. 

" He was the largest gorilla that I ever saw," said Keetsie ; 
while the others of us scarcely dared look to the right or left, 
and started nervously every time a monkey leaped from one 
bough to another, or a parrot muttered sleepily to its mate. 
" He was ten feet in height, boys ; and his muscles and sinews 
stood out hke iron, and were as hard as iron, I know. His face 
was very human, the features standing out clearly and distinctly, 
and being well formed. As soon as he saw the necessity for 
help, he began to call for his metes, throwing the wild cocoanuts 
all the time, and keeping well out of spear-throw as he did so. 

" Others, how many and how powerful we did not know, 
would soon put in an appearance in answer to his call. We 
were only a handful of men, and could not hope to cope suc- 
cessfully with many such as the one before us. Still we resolved 



6o FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

to make a fight for it, and drew closer together, when, lo, 
boys ! from out the woods, robed in skins, and wearing a wild, 
strange expression upon her face, came a woman. 

"When she looked directly at us, we saw that it was no 
other than the king's favorite wife, who had disappeared two 
years before. For an instant she seemed half ashamed when 
she recognized us, but only for a moment ; then she appeared 
to recover her self-possession, and going boldly to the side of 
the raging animal, put both arms about him and actually talked 
to him in a quick, hurried way. What she said we could not 
hear ; but he seemed to understand, and became very calm, drop- 
ping the wild cocoanuts, one by one, as she talked. He put his 
great arms — I know they never measured less, when outspread, 
than ten or eleven feet — he put those horrid arms about her 
quite lovingly, and ceased calling for help. 

" She gestured in our direction a good deal, and by that we 
knew she was conveying to him something concerning us. He 
nodded his head sagely for a few times ; then she turned to us, 
and told us that in the woods back of us there was an army of 
gorillas, who might appear at any moment in answer to the call 
of their mate. We might go in peace and safety because we 
were her friends ; but she advised us, if we valued. our lives, to 
get out of that vicinity as quickly as we could. 

"The king asked her if she did not want him to come back 
and rescue her from the arms of such an inhuman husband ; but 
she answered ' No ! ' quite sharply, and said she was happy and 
contented as she was. 

" In spite of her words, however, the king did come with 
many of his warriors, to take her back to the town, to her 
people ; but we found the hut deserted and destroyed, and the 
woman and gorilla gone, and we never saw them afterwards ; but 
old men have said they have seen, and I won't say that I have not 
also, the wraith of a terrible ghostly figure, half gorilla and half 
woman, who appears to some member of the tribe just before 
a misfortune of some kind is to befall it." 

I can't describe the low, w^ird voice, the strange, fearful 
eyes, and the trembling and thrilling gestures, of Keetsie as he 
told us this tale. I for one was glad when it was finished, and 
I didn't sleep much that night. When I did, I dreamt of the 
woman who was part gorilla and part human, and awoke with a 
start, to strain my eyes through the thick gloom, and to start at 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 6 1 

every sound made in the trees upon which my hammock was 
swung. 

This gorilla story of Keetsie's, and Hingbe's death at the 
hands of one, haunted me constantly ; and every time I went 
into the woods, I expected to be borne off and devoured. 

Of course this story of Keetsie's does not sound very prob- 
able to me now ; but at the time I heard it I accepted it in the 
utmost good faith. 

True or not, the fact remains that this animal is a terrible 
foe, and my people are frightened of it, and they are frightened 
of nothing else. Courage and a Vey heart are synonymous in 
all things besides. 

I was very lonely at times ; as lonely and mother-sick as 
any civilized boy could have been. I missed Hingbe. There 
was no other to whom I could talk of my ambitions, and of the 
conquests I intended to make in the years to come. He had 
always understood and sympathized with me, and others would 
only laugh, and call me "silly boy," so I spent much of my 
time in hunting alone or with Zolusingbe, who encouraged all 
my self-conceit. He said I ought to be proud. Was I not the 
son of a powerful king? and did I not know more of hunting 
tactics than all the other boys put together ? He was proud of 
me, he said. He was going to write* to my father that he had a 
son who was worthy of all his affections ; but all Zolusingbe's 
words of consolation could not cheer me. I seemed to have a 
presentiment, and a strong one, for the second time in my life, 
that some misfortune was to befall me. 

I used to creep away by myself and make offerings of small 
game to the moon, and ask her favor and implore her love, in a 
way, though not for worlds would I have let Zolusingbe or any 
of the others know of this longing. 

How I wished to be a man, and go out to fight. That was 
my ambition now — to fight a real battle. Hunting had become 
somewhat trite and matter-of-fact, and I longed for novelty. 

Alas, the change was to come soon enough ! How little I 
thought then of the vicissitudes I would suffer, and how Httle I 
then grasped or thought of the One who led me into the Light 
Divine, and has filled my Hfe with a peace that does indeed 
" pass all understanding ; " that proves to me now that, bar- 

*The Vey man has hieroglyphics as letters. 



62 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

barian and all as I was at that time, I had a nature that was 
intensely religious. I wonder if the Eternal God took to him- 
self that spiritual uplifting of the naked savage boy. 

I began to suffer much physical pain, caused by ulcers, of a 
very painful description, on the sole of the foot. This was 
owing to an annoying worm, we called the "jigger," becoming 
imbedded in the flesh of my foot. 

I had taken the utmost precaution, too, to prevent this 
worm from finding its way into my flesh ; but, in spite of the 
leather sandals I wore, it did get into my flesh ; and the con- 
sequence was the painful ulcers I have told you about. The 
worms were very common in the forests, and are, indeed, very 
common in Bendoo. I could not walk at all. During my 
affliction Zolusingbe was kindness personified; and was very 
gentle and tender with me, bathing my aching feet with cool 
water, and lancing them, when occasion demanded, and bind- 
ing them up in palm leaves. When I had recovered from the 
ulcers, a few of the other boys and myself were formed into 
a class to study the Code of Law and principles of government 
of our tribe. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 6^ 



CHAPTER VII. 
'Our life Avas but a battle and a march." 



— GoetJie. 



"Things thought unlikely, e'en impossible, 
Experience often shows us to be true." 

— Shakespeare. 

RETURN TO BENDOO. 

I WAS very restless now, and longed to return to my native 
town. I often spoke to Zolusingbe, and asked him when I 
would be allowed to return. " Patience, patience," he would 
answer ; " there are many years before you yet, my boy, and 
these moments which you wish may come to an end may be the 
very happiest in your life." 

As is apt to be the case with young people, I doubted his 
words. Hingbe gone, and the mysterious — once mysterious — 
hunting of animals a common drudgery, no longer tinged with 
the dehghts of novelty, this aimless life seemed monotonous 
enough, and I wished more and more for active life. 

About this time, under Zolusingbe's direction, I began the 
study of what is known as the "Code of Law" of our tribe. I 
spent much time over this, studying every part of it minutely 
and thoroughly. 

Now, I do not deny but there are many men of our tribe 
who are degraded and lazy enough— there are such among all 
nations in the world ; but if they are ignorant on many things, 
there is one thing they all do understand, and that is the " Code 
of Law " of their tribe. It was simple enough. Among the 
many, I might almost say hundreds of principles which it sets 
forth, the following are considered the most important : — 

I. The duties and responsibilities that were incumbent upon 
all warriors during war times, and the best way of meeting these 
duties and responsibilities, and the penalty which followed the 
failure to do so. 



64 FROM Tiifi DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

II. The different modes of punishing prisoners, and when it 
is deemed advisable, of kiUing them. 

III. Kindness shown by another tribe is to be answered in- 
variably by kindness ; but hostility is to be met with a fierce, 
unyielding spirit, and punished without mercy. 

IV. That we should never kill a woman, no matter if she be 
free or bound, and no child under ten years of age. No 
cruelties or tortures should ever be imposed upon women 
captives. 

V. If a nobleman of high birth be caught, his head might be 
taken off, if it so pleased his captors, but he never could be 
sold as a slave. 

Oh ! the weary, weary days I spent, after I had mastered 
the code. At last Zolusingbe brought me one morning the 
glad news for which I had been longing. "Rejoice now, 
Besolow," said he ; "the time for which you have been longing 
and waiting has come at last." 

"What do you mean?" I eagerly inquired. "A war is 
about to be waged between your father and King Cobbar, of 
Lake Tchad, over a portion of land they both claim ; and to- 
day a messenger arrived from your father, asking if there 
were any of the boys here who were capable of fighting for 
him." 

" O Zolusingbe ! " I cried, starting to my feet and seizing 
his hard hand, and bowing over it as if it were the hand of a 
god. " O friend, my teacher, permit me to go back with 
you ; I will try to distinguish myself ; I will fight, ah, how I will 
fight ! I will prove that I am not a coward ; they will never 
say that you made a mistake in sending Besolow to them." 

Zolusingbe smiled a little. " How eager you are to leave 
here. Going to battle, boy, is not the glorious thing which 
you picture it. It is hard work. There are nine chances to 
one that you'll fail ; for not only have you to dread the onslaught 
of the enemy, but there is much to dread in the way of jealousy 
and intrigue among the men of your own party." 

" I know all that, Zolusingbe ; you have often told me of 
that, but I do not care for all these things ; only give me a 
chance to fight, and I will prove to you and the whole world 
that I am not afraid to die. I will make every one admire me 
so much that they will never think of being jealous." I went 
on, with all a boy's egotism, and my heart swelled at the thought 
of really and indeed participating in a genuine war. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 65 

I believe I got down on my knees to him, and finally pros- 
trated myself at his feet, in a way we have when wishing to be 
very humble, beat up the dust in great clouds with my hands 
and feet. " Get up, Besolow," said the old man ; "I intend to 
send you and a few others back to Bendoo to-morrow." For 
half a mile I think my exultant cries of joy and pleasure might 
have been heard ; and I danced into the air, and whirled about 
till the old chief, the trees, and the sky, became a maze before 
my eyes. I wondered how the other boys, who were to return 
with me, could take the news so calmly. I looked at them in 
amazement, as they Hstened quietly to Zolusingbe's directions 
for our trip to-morrow. They in their turn, I have no doubt, 
were equally astonished at my glee in the thought, and my 
noisy manner of showing it. It was of no use, I could not 
keep still. I climbed trees, ran around in a circle, ran down 
to the shore and plunged into the lake waters, over and over 
again ; but it was of no use, as I could neither climb, run or 
jump off my unusual exuberance of spirits. 

I often think of that time when I see the young American 
boy's delight, as the school days draw to a close, and he sees a 
long, full, useful life before him. True, I had spent many happy 
hours in this forest school, but it was not liberty, the dearest 
thing on earth to me. 

That night I didn't sleep at all ; I lay quietly in my ham- 
mock with my arms clasped over my head, and gave myself up 
to my thoughts. I thought much of the dead Hingbe, and 
wished with all my heart that he were here to share my happi- 
ness. I saw the moon, one of my favorite gods, peep out from 
behind a cloud, and I thanked her for her kindness in moving 
my father to send for me, and promised her no end of thank- 
offerings when the battle was over. 

The next morning I was up before any of the rest. As I 
looked at the hammocks and the sleeping boys in them, I was 
puzzled to know how they could sleep so soundly on such a 
morning. 

I ran down to the shore and plunged into the lake for the 
last time, and then sat on the shore, basking like a salamander 
in the rays of the sun, that grew hotter and hotter every moment. 

Zolusingbe and I built a blazing fire on the shore, and 
cooked some small fish ; and by the time these were cooked, 
the boys had crawled out of the hammocks and were ready 
for something to eat. 



66 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

My people are moderately polite, having a set of rules to 
govern in such matters — more of which I will explain by and by. 
At the common board, however, etiquette is not observed to any 
great extent. The boys squatted about the food that had 
just been cooked, and each one carved for himself, evidently 
believing in that old maxim, "Fingers were made before forks." 

The meal finished, the chiefs called us about them for the 
last time, and presented each of us with a garment of tiger skin 
and a shield of hard, polished wood. Until this time, and since 
our birth, we had been more or less perfectly nude. They 
talked to us at length, then bade us good-bye, and prayed that 
the favor of the gods might go with us. 

Without a single regret I started on the march. It seemed 
to me that I walked on air, and marvelled again at the indiifer- 
ence shown by the others. We grew very tired, however, after 
a brisk onward march of days, through swamp, and brake, 
and immense vine-hung forests, and a considerable degree of 
my enthusiasm had burnt itself out. We were all glad when 
the chiefs called a halt. Then one of our number lost his life. 
I do not think I have mentioned tree-snakes to you before, and 
a word about them here might prove somewhat interesting. 
They are a long, thin snake, about the color of the bark of a 
tree, upon the branches of which it clings. It is not readily 
seen, and before its victim, who is all unconsciously walking be- 
neath the tree, reahzes that it is in his vicinity, it makes a flying 
leap through the air, and quick almost as it takes to tell of it, 
buries its fangs in the top of his head. Before he can dispose 
of it or drag it away, it nearly always has stung him so badly 
that death will result after much agony ; for the poison of the 
snake's tongue goes through the veins and arteries like lightning, 
causing them to swell to an enormous size, and turns the blood 
to a deep-blue color. 

To protect ourselves from this fate, we wore on the top of 
our heads a flat kind of hat made of bamboo and lined with 
cotton. In some parts of the woods there are more of these rep- 
tiles than in others. In the woods where we had been at 
school there were not many of them, but in that part of the woods 
where we called the first halt on our homeward journey, they 
were very numerous. 

This young man went off to hunt by himself, and left behind 
him his garment and hat. An hour later he came back swelled 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. ■ 67 

to almost double his natural size, with his eyes bulging out of his 
head. It was unnecessary to inquire what the trouble was ; he 
had been stung by a tree-snake. That night after horrible suf- 
ferings he died, and we buried him in the woods, laying beside 
him his garment and spear, shield and sandals, besides the 
freshly killed carcass of a hyena, and a drinking-cup and a 
sword. 

That was the only thing of any moment that happened to us 
on the march. When nearly at Bendoo we met a party of one 
hundred or more boys, under the guidance of their chiefs, on 
their way to the school. With what a lofty air did we greet 
them ! In it was all the superiority of our condition, of senior 
greeting freshmen. We asked the chiefs about the state of 
things in the town, and they informed us that my father was very 
busy making preparations for war. The soldiers were being 
drilled, and the gods were being propitiated, and everybody 
was more or less excited. 

Finally, one day at sunrise, we arrived in the town. Our 
arrival was greeted with a tremendous roll of drums, and the 
wild native dancers pranced all the way before us singing songs 
of welcome. How strange everything looked — the many con- 
ical huts, the smooth main road ! A breakfast of roast game, 
and bananas and yams was spread on the ground for us, and 
we fell to and ate with a great relish, finishing off with a 
mouthful or two of whiskey all around, which I confess I did 
not like, and which almost strangled me with its strength and 
fire. 

As I played about with the other boys, word came from 
father that he wished to see me. With an elated heart I fol- 
lowed the messenger towards his palace. He was sitting in the 
courtyard, and squatted all about him were the ten men who 
comprised the council. They presented quite a striking effect. 
Father sat or squatted on a high eminence ; he wore a flowing 
whit undergarment, with tunic of bright scarlet. My father 
was a fine-looking man, tall and broad, and these robes set off his 
dark, smooth skin to advantage. The councilors wore long cloaks 
of purple and red, knotted at their right shoulders, which, when 
they sat, spread out over the ground behind them like trains. 

Father beckoned me to come towards him, which I did, 
prostrating myself at his feet and throwing great handfuls of 
dust over my body, to show my respect and reverence for him. 



68 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

"Rise," he said in a very kind voice, and I obeyed him. "Beso- 
low," he said, "I hear very good accounts of you while away at 
school. Zolusingbe has told me that you are a brave boy, and 
know not the name of fear. You are my son, and I am proud 
of you. You and the boys who have returned with you shall go 
with me to battle. I hope I may not be disappointed in you." 

When he had finished I again prostrated myself in the dust, 
and told him that I would do everything in my power to prevent 
him from being disappointed in me. 

"It is well," he said ; ''you may remain here for awhile, and 
witness the transactions that take place." 

With my heart very nearly bursting with pride and delight 
at this unlooked-for condescension on the part of my father, I 
took a seat on a grassy knoll a little to his left, which was 
covered with a gay rug in which a great deal of yellow and 
red predominated, helping in its small way toward the pictur- 
esqueness of the scene. Then my father addressed himself to 
his councilors, who seemed to be in deep quandary, — that is, if 
one could draw any inference from their downcast eyes, their 
tightly clasped hands, and their thick brows knitted into a 
thoughtful frown. It appeared that they were considering a 
perplexing question concerning the coming war, and could not 
come to a satisfactory conclusion about it. 

They had been sitting for three or four hours, and were no 
nearer to a conclusion that pleased them than they had been at 
the beginning of the meeting. At last one of the men, the 
chief councilor, rose, and making a low obeisance to father 
(for every time a man addressed the council he did so, 
similar to the Greek customs in the Agora), said: "There 
is only one thing left for us to do. We must be granted 
greater wisdom before we can decide on the matter before us ; 
and you know, King Carttom, what will give us that wisdom." 
He seated himself after this speech, and all the other coimcil- 
ors looked more ominous than ever. 

Father nodded, and seemed to be in deep thought. "Are 
you sure," he said, "that wisdom will come in no other way?" 

"Yes, yes," chorused the men ; "it is the only thing that 
will bring wisdom to us now." I wondered to myself what in 
the world this mysterious wisdom-giving power could be, and 
why the men seemed so eager to have it and father loth to grant, 
but I was not destined to find out. Father rose, looking every 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 69 

inch a king, with his long, floating, handsome robes falUng 
gracefully about his majestic form. "Be it granted unto you," 
he said slowly ; "wisdom you must have." Then he called me 
to him, laid his hand upon my head for an instant, and dismissed 
me. I went rather reluctantly. Afterwards, when I asked 
Zolusingbe to explain these mysterious proceedings, he shook 
his head and told me that he dared not divulge the work- 
ings of the council ; indeed, as I learned later, it was a secret 
society, whose members, or those cognizant of its inner move- 
ments, dared not speak of them on pain of death. 

When I met my mother she was very glad to see me, 
and called me her '^din ,bella, din bella" — (good, brave boy). 
She spoke to me of the war, told me to be careful, and not to be 
too daring and thus lose my life. She took me with her to 
see Taradobah, who embraced me as warmly, and seemed as 
glad to see me as my own mother had been. 

I sat on one of the stools and chatted with her about my 
future for a long time. She broached the subject of the Mission 
to me, and said now that I had become such a large boy, I 
ought to entertain some thought of going there. It would be 
such an excellent thing to learn the English language. Because, 
by and by — who knew? — I might be in my father's place, and 
knowing their tongue, could conduct so much better the busi- 
ness with the traders. The thought of the white people and 
going among them did not frighten me as dreadfully as it had 
done some time before ; but it was not a pleasant thought to en- 
tertain, and I told Taradobah that I would rather die than go. 
"I do not want to learn to speak English," I said ; "if I should 
ever stand in my father's position, I could hire interpreters, as 
he had done." 

"But how would you know that your affairs are going as 
you would have them ? How would you know but that some of 
these interpreters would cheat you?" 

"Like father, I would soon learn a few business terms and 
phrases, so thatT could carry on the most important of my 
affairs myself." 

"It would be a good thing for you, Besolow, to understand 
everything that was going on. There is a certain trader from 
Hamburg, Brumm by name, agent for H. C. Woermann & Co., 
who is continually advising your father to send some of his sons 
to the Mission, and I think your father intends sending you." 



70 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

"Taradobah," I said, "not now ; not before the war. That 
would be too cruel." 

She smiled. "I do not know," she replied, "but I think it 
will be after this battle. So prepare yourself. Do not look 
upon it, Besolow, as anything to be dreaded ; it will be a fine 
thing for you." I shook my head. "I have a son whom I am 
going to send. He is very eager and anxious to go ; and he 
will probably never occupy such a high position as your mother's 
sons will." 

All the old fears came back to me when I left Taradobah. 
I had no heart to play. The boys and girls were jumping rope, 
and target-shooting, and called out, -"Come, Besolow; come 
and join us." But I shook my head moodily. It seemed to be 
fated that I should be sent away from my people to the whites. 
"After the battle was over," Taradobah said. The battle will 
be over in a few months, and then — what would come to me ? 
Was this to be the fulfillment of all my ambitious, lofty dreams — 
to go among an unknown people, to an unknown land, and learn 
to chatter in their language ? What did I care about their lan- 
guage ? Nothing in the world. I went to mother again with 
my grievances, and with her hand upon my head she promised 
to do all in her power to prevent my going. She was not at all 
in sympathy with father about ray going away. I have told you 
her reasons ; she loved me, and felt that if I left her to go 
among the white people she would never see me again. 

A little comforted by her assurance of help, I went out and 
joined in the games. Busy scenes began to be enacted. We 
boys who had just returned from school, were drilled from day 
to day by an old and experienced chief, and reviewed all the 
war tactics and principles in which we had been instructed 
while away. Father often reviewed his troops, and made any 
suggestions which occurred to his mind, though he never drilled 



Monrovia, March 25, 1891. 

My dear Besolow : It has been some time since I have writ- 
ten you to an extent. This will be somewhat lengthy, and in it I 
take pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of your favor of the 7th 
February last, in which you again state the I'act that you desire to 
have and maintain a University for the education of your people at 
Bendoo. 

You desire me to be a trustee as well as adviser, I shall place 
myself in that attitude to the University, and shall do all in my 
power to render the project a success. Besides, it is my intention 
to take a trip up to Bendoo at an early date, as I have never been 
there before, and survey the place to see whe'her for all parts of the 
Republic it can be desirable and accessible to students. The only 
work to be done here wath respect to the execution of your plans, is 
simply this : that you get the land by gift, or otherwise — say about 
five hundred acres — erect your buildings, etc., and then I shall assist 
you in regard to the charter of incorporation, etc., etc. I fully en- 
dorse your views with respect to the education of our people. The 
only drawback to Africa is the ignorance of the masses. I was 
always favorably impressed with our aboriginal brethren, and deem 
them capable of becoming part of the body politic of the Republic, 
but the leaders, "self-styled," still reject them. This prospective 
University, however, will be, in my opinion, a potent factor in 
accomplishing the desirable. Had our fathers, upon their first 
landing, married and intermarried among the aborigines, to-day we 
would have had healthy, vigorous, and virtuous wives ; numerically 
more than what are now. 

I long to see you home again, my boy. You must write and 
state when you are coming. Remember, Besolow, for truth and 
honesty stand up, and as \on^ as you work in that groove, in me 
you will have a warm friend and brother. Before your return home I 
would like very much for you to visit Baltimore, my second home. 
Go to Sarah Ann Street, and call for Miss Annie E. Chew; she 
is my cousin ; she will receive you kindly. Use my name to her 
and it will be well. Again, Besolow, if you go to Baltimore, find 
out from my cousin where Mrs. Fannie M. Clair, formerly Fannie 
M. Walker, is. She is my adopted sister, and a perfect lady. She 
formerly lived at Division Street, Baltimore, but I am informed 
she has moved to Virginia; and then, Besolow, if you find this 
young lady, mention me to her as her adopted brother, and she 
will receive 3'ou warmly. At all events, find out her address, — some- 
where in Alexandria, Virginia,— for I desire to write her. Tender 
her my profoundest brotherly love. Induce these young women to 
come to Liberia, and others of rank and importance elsewhere. 
Since home I have been, difficulties and trials dire I have had, yet 
have surmounted them. So courage, my boy. Take care of your- 
self. Write soon. While I have to remain. 

Your true friend, Johns.* 

*Thos. A. Johns, Attorney-at-Law, former confidential bookkeeper for Hen- 
rick Mulher & Co., Rotterdam, ITnlland. 



76 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER VIII. 

"Where's the coward that would not dare 
To fight for such a band?" — Marmion. 

THE WAR. 

The busy days preceding the war began to dwindle down 
to the time for march, until at length the day dawned upon 
which we were to leave Bendoo. Two hours before the sun 
rose, the long, rumbling roll of kettle-drums resounded through- 
out the town, and called us together. 

The chiefs surveyed the different regiments, and we quickly 
fell into line. 

The chiefs wore the following dress : First came a shirt of 
flesh-colored, almost pink cotton, which descended to the 
knees, and over this was a tunic of tiger skin. Directly over 
the breast was a protector, made of solid silver. In the very 
center of these breast-shields is a little compartment, in which 
is placed, and locked in securely, the god of defense. No one 
but the medicine man knows of what this god is made, and it 
costs anywhere from twenty-five to fifty dollars. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 77 

About one hundred dollars' worth of silver is used in making 
the breastplate ; so that every chief represented as he stood, at 
least one hundred and fifty dollars, — a rich prize to the enemy 
who took him. I thought of this as I saw them with the first 
faint light of the morning sunshine glancing off and on their 
silver decorations as they moved busily about, giving orders in 
quite sharp, decided tones, which told us that they knew what 
they were doing, and expected to be obeyed. Each of them 
wore a cap of many colors, blue, red, purple, brown; and on 
the shoulders of some of the higher chiefs floated an elegant 
cape, to correspond. In front of the cap, fitted on very nicely, 
was a silver plate, which came over the forehead and defended 
the face. A tiny silver chain was fastened on the sides of the 
cap, and fastened under the chin, thus holding it in place. 
Then on top of their caps was a fine silver tassel. 

They all wore sandals upon their feet, to protect them from 
the sharp stones during the long march which lay before them. 

Each of the common soldiers, of which I was one, had a 
knife, a good spear, and a shield of hard, poHshed wood. Our 
" defense " consisted of a little god which had been placed in 
the horn of an antelope ; one of these we all wore hung about 
our necks. These lesser gods cost from fifty cents to two 
dollars. They are constantly renewed ; a new one being nec- 
essary every time the native man goes to battle or on a hunting 
expedition. 

We wore pantaloons similar in cut to those worn by the 
Chinese, made of cotton cloth of bright colors, red and purple 
being the favorite and predominating hues. Our shield, fastened 
onto our arms, was of iron. 

You can well imagine how brilliant a scene we made as we 
stood silently in line, waiting for marching orders. 

How my heart thrilled as at length was heard, shrill and 
piercing, stirring the echoes for many rods around, the blast of 
a bugle, and we were given the signal to march ! At last, oh, 
at last, the long looked for, long expected time had come ! I 
was actually going to fight. No sham fight ; no mock boy 
prisoners to be taken from behind toy forts ; but a real, genuine 
battle lay before me, in which men would fight to the death for 
the honor and victory of their tribe. 

It seemed as if I was treading upon air. I seemed wholly 



78 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

spirited. The drums rolled out in a deafening manner, the bugles 
and horns cut the air with their sharpness, and the hoarse 
cheers, and cries, and songs of the native men and women, and 
of the children who flocked about us, called me back to earth 
and realities. 

Father walked in front, resplendent in a long cloak made of 
every color imaginable, skillfully embroidered in silver and gold. 
I kept my eyes fixed upon him, and my heart swelled at the 
thought that perhaps I should one day hold a similar position. 
We marched along steadily, keeping in line and being very 
orderly, until we had left Bendoo far behind us. 

There were fifteen hundred of us boys, not any of us being 
over eighteen years of age ; and after a halt had been called, 
and we were gathered about a camp fire that night, we lost all 
restraint, and enjoyed ourselves to the fullest extent. Some of 
us had killed some small game, and we cooked this, and eating 
it, sang and told stories until it Avas time to cuddle up closely 
to one another and go to rest. 

The next morning we resumed the march, crossing the 
Marfa in canoes. These canoes were manned by possibly fifty 
or sixty men. After crossing the Marfa, we marched directly 
southeast, until we came to the flourishing town, Tarldobah, 
as strongly fortified as was Bendoo. For two or three days we 
marched through a most beautiful country, passing large orange 
and banana groves, long, rolling meadows, and breaking our 
way through dense, majestic forests, or climbing over a fine, 
steep mountain. 

We were marching now much as we pleased, and beguiled 
away the time by singing and story-telling ; but directly as we 
began to near the enemy's borders, the chiefs called us to 
order, and the rapidity with which we all fell into position was 
surprising. A little before noon of the fifth day we arrived, 
and halted, at a broad eminence overlooking the town of the 
enemy. It was the capital town of the Cobbars. 

I noticed a look of anxiety pass over the face of some of 
the men who stood near me, and I overheard one of them say, 
"I hope it won't be me." 

"What does he mean? " I asked of the kind chief who was 
my commander. 

'•' He means he hopes that it will not be him who will be 
called upon to lose his hand," replied the chief. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 79 

Then seeing the look of inquiry upon my face, hastened to 
explain. '-^ We send to the enemy a war challenge in form of a 
human hand. One of these men here will be called upon to 
sacrifice his hand. It may be you, it may be me ; I do not 
know. It will be whoever the king may think fit to select." 

Strange as it may seem, the man whom I had heard express 
a wish that he might not be chosen, 7&as selected as the one to 
give his hand, and was brought before father. He dared not 
demur, for then, by so doing, he would have lost his life. 

" Hold out your hand," father commanded. Pressing his 
lips together firmly, the man obeyed, and one of the soldiers 
came up and with his sword severed it from the wrist. A 
tremble passed through the man's form, but beyond that he 
exhibited no further sign that he was in pain and suffered. His 
arm was rubbed with a common ointment, which prevented 
him from bleeding to death, and bound up in many cotton 
bands. The poor fellow must have suffered, but I never heard 
him make a sound that showed that he was in any pain. 

One of our men was selected to take this hand to the 
enemy. He did not return, but the hand was sent back with 
words of defiance by one of their men. He was instantly 
killed by the medicine man who accompanied us. Our man 
had probably suffered the same fate at the hands of the enemy. 

Our army then swept down upon the town and attempted 
to take it by force, but were bravely repulsed. We gave them 
the idea that w^e thought ourselves defeated, and late that night, 
when we thought they were off guard, attacked them again, and 
were again driven back. 

Was it possible, I asked myself, that we were going to be 
defeated, after having come so far, and after having felt so con- 
fident in our success? Our military strength was great, but 
might not that of the enemy be still greater ? Our armies were 
well. disciplined, for we had been trained from our youth in war 
principles and tactics ; but might not this be true and truer of 
the besieged people? 

I felt that sooner than lose this battle I would suffer any 
torture, endure any pain, and, if it were possible, sacrifice my 
life ten times over. 

My father's army, I had been proud to learn, was one that 
was much respected and feared by the tribes for many miles 
around. He had not only been able to repulse all the would-be 



8o FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

encroachers on his territory, but had conquered and subdued 
many powerful peoples who had occupied land he wished to 
possess. 

Oh, the gods wouldn't let my first battle end in defeat ! 
At daybreak the next morning we fell upon their fortifications 
for the third time. Our commanding officer Mormoro Jiffy, 
in African urged us on with fiery eloquence to fight, and eager 
for victory we needed but little urging. A great amount of 
bloodshed and death took place on both sides : the men were 
excited, for between these two tribes was a grudge of long 
standing. 

At the end of ten hours we succeeded in destroying the 
fortifications and entered their town. They were gathered in 
line to meet us, so near the walls that we were actually in spear 
throw of one another, and we did most of our fighting on both 
sides with the spear. It is the distinguishing weapon of the 
Vey man. The ones we used were from five to six feet in 
length, and were made of oak, with the diagonal end of the 
best steel, finely sharpened and tempered. We fought a hand- 
to-hand fight, and many lost their lives. 

For myself I seemed to bear a charmed life. My spear was 
broken, and Mormoro Jiffy thrust a gun and shot into my hand. 
It was the second time in my life that I had ever handled a 
gun, and finding this one placed in my hands so suddenly, 
somewhat confused and embarrassed me. In the excitement 
of the moment I thrust all the caps and shot into the muzzle 
of the gun and rammed them forcibly down. When I fired it 
off it recoiled with much force, and the backward action was so 
powerful that it took away my breath for an instant, and made 
me, as you say in this country, "see stars." 

Fortunately I was not stunned, and could resume the fight, 
taking care to procure another spear. I was sure of this. I 
knew it would serve me no mean trick. We fought hand-to- 
hand for eight long hours, then we managed to set their town 
on fire ; and then by a skillful manoeuvre, which is commonly 
practiced by the native tribes, we forced the enemy backward 
into the flames. 

They had lost many men and we far outnumbered them, 
and seeing no hope of victory they surrendered and became 
our prisoners. Their town was now our town, and their 
provisions our provisions. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 8 1 

How happy was I when I heard the welcome cry, "We 
surrender, we surrender." I was considerably wounded, and my 
clothes hung upon my back in tatters, but I didn't care for any- 
thing. We had won ! We were victorious ! The gods had 
been propitious, and I was very grateful to them. 

The next morning, as was the custom, the captives who 
were rebellious and haughty were beheaded, many of them 
dying in the spirit of heroes. 

I wanted to be a warrior now more than ever. Much elated, 
we returned to Bendoo, driving our prisoners before us like 
sheep. Maybe a few words more on the war customs of my 
people gleaned from the experience of later years would be of 
interest. 

Over the army the king is commander-in-chief, who seldom, 
if ever, fights himself, but who reviews troops before and after 
battle, and promotes or condemns to death, as it suits his whim. 
He is always pleased to commend valor, as he is quick to 
punish cowardice. Nothing is despised quite so much by-the 
Vey man as lack of courage. If a soldier is detected in shirk- 
ing any duty while on the battlefield, he is instantly killed by 
his chief, while his memory and name, and the names of all 
connected with him, are held in the greatest contempt and 
scorn. 

When a king is about to begin a battle, he places his men 
much in the following manner. The younger men, who are 
desirous of winning honors, are placed in the front ranks, at 
once the place of distin^^tion and danger. 

They are placed in this way to protect the older and more 
skilled warriors behind them, from the first hot charge of the 
enemy. These "boys" fight usually with a vim and earnest- 
ness which some who are older than they might do well to imi- 
tate. I know how it was in my own case. 

I knew that some of the men behind me were narrowly 
watching all my movements, to see if I was skillful in the use 
of my weapon, and brave or not. I knew, also, that if I was 
inclined to retreat from the danger before me, there was as cer- 
tain a danger behind, for some old warrior would take my life 
before I had retreated a dozen steps. 

There is nothing left, then, to the boys but fight, and fight 
they do ; often covering themselves with glory in the eyes of the 
army by their tact, and persistency, and skill. 



82 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

This courage seems to be innate with them ; and, as I have 
said before, a good deal depends upon the excellent discipline 
which they receive ; and also upon the spirit of emulation 
caused by the presence of the older men, who they know will 
report to the king all their deeds. 

After a battle, the first thing an army does is what we did 
after the capture of Tarldobah ; i. e., take possession of all the 
cattle they can find, all the sheep and goats, and all the grain 
and maize they can lay their hands on, and appropriate to 
themselves anything to which they may take a fancy. 

Tarldobah as we marched away, after sacking it, presented 
a bare and wretched appearance enough. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 83 



CHAPTER IX. 

AT THE MISSION. 

" In man's most dark extremity, 
Oft succor dawns from heaven." 

— Byron. 

" I knew not all — yet 
Something of unrest 
Set on my heart." 

— Hemans. 

AFTER THE WAR — DAYS IN BENDOO. 

Shortly after our return to Bendoo, father appointed a day 
to receive the chiefs and the men who had fought under them. 
Never shall I forget that day — beautiful beyond description, 
not a cloud to be seen ! 

The soldiers were grouped together, wondering among 
themselves who were to be promoted and who would lose their 
lives ; hinting darkly that this one's head would not be on his 
shoulders at sunset, or giving their opinion that such a one 
would be made chief, at least. 

I was very anxious indeed concerning my fate. My heart 
thumped as the hour of the interview drew near. At last we 
heard echoing throughout the town the rumbling roll of the 
kettle-drum, which announced to us that father was in waiting 
to review us. 

He was seated in state in the courtyard before his palace, 
with his councilors grouped about him. Very handsome and 
splendid he looked, in a beautiful scarlet jacket and a white 
undershirt, both of which were finely embroidered with gold 
and silver fihgree work. The chiefs took their places on either 
side of him, in order of their rank, while a little to the right of 
him were his drummers, dancers, and musicians. 

One by one the chiefs came up to him, and, prostrating 
themselves before him, named over the brave men and then the 
unfortunate ones who had exhibited cowardice. The former 
were given an advance in rank, while the slaughter of the latter 



84 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

men was something awful. The councilors tried in vain to 
change father's decision where some of the men were concerned, 
but he was inexorable. In Bendoo, at the present time, this 
wholesale butchery after a battle is not indulged in as it was then. 
The councilors seem to have become possessed of more power to 
prevent such scenes, and certainly have more influence with 
their kings than they had with my father, who was a self-willed, 
determined man, who used his despotic power to its fullest 
extent. 

A few of the strongest men suspected of cowardice were 
granted their lives ; but for my own part, I would have pre- 
ferred death to the contempt and scorn with which they were 
treated by their companions. Jeered and sneered at, and 
tabooed from all pleasure and companionship, they were left 
alone. Cowardice is something we never forget, never forgive. 

Then, as I have described before, the prisoners whom we 
captured were brought up before father. Each one was asked : 
"Are you wiUing to become a faithful subject to me? Are you 
willing to fight, to die for me ? " 

I pray I may never see so much blood shed again as I 
did that day. The courtyard and streets were red with it, 
and it trickled off the stones of the street in the vicinity like 
water. For my own part, I was glad when it was over and 
father had dismissed those who were left ; but I judge that 
the others enjoyed it, and were sorry when the last poor wretch 
moaned out his death cry. That evening we had, as is the 
custom after battle, a war dance. 

For a time everything was quiet in my life, and secretly I 
chafed at this quiet, like a young race horse that has tasted 
the joys of the track, and is eager to be upon it again, winning 
fresh honors and plaudits. I was thrilled with the remem- 
brance of my first battle, and was eager and anxious for an 
active life. I looked upon the games in which the boys 
indulged, with secret contempt. What child's play they 
seemed after the reality of war. Most of the time was spent 
in hunting, and in making eyes at the girls who were beginning 
to return from their isolated schools in great numbers, and 
were ready to become the wife of any one who could pay the 
sum asked for them. 

I ought to speak briefly concerning the women of Vey, — 
their character and condition, — and perhaps as well here as 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 85 

elsewhere. They are for the most part good, decent, and, 
comparatively speaking, very well-behaved. They are very 
great smokers, and consume as much tobacco as a man. 
Some of them, too, are great drinkers, but, I am glad to say, 
these are exceptional cases. 

A Vey mother is very kind to her children, as in the case 
of my own mother ; they are sometimes even gentle and tender. 

As the girls of my own town grew from childhood to girl- 
hood, I noticed that they were not treated with the considera- 
tion and respect that is shown to the males. However, they 
were seldom abused, as are the women of some tribes. Indeed, 
in most parts of barbarous Africa women are treated but a 
little better than the lower animals. 

I am glad to say, that if not shown the greatest respect 
among Vey and Mandingo, they are, at least, shown some ; 
and a few of my father's favorite wives, especially Taradobah, 
had a great deal to do with managing his affairs. 

I think the women are happy and contented. They were 
not at that time, and are not now, like many African women, 
slaves, but understood how to make the most of their charms 
to coax and wheedle about their husbands, and, as I used to 
see, with much amusement, get the upper hand of them. 
After all, human nature is the same the wide world over, and 
women are the cleverest diplomats under the sun, for their 
modes and ways of obtaining their desired ends are such that 
a man does not understand, and therefore cannot cope with. 

I remember one chief. Hallo by name, had a vixenish wife 
of whom he was very tired. He decided to cast her off, and 
sent her back to her parents. What happened ? Like a swarm 
of angry bees buzzing about his ears, and threatening to sting 
him to death, the whole female population of Bendoo sur- 
rounded his hut. They abused him in no gentle terms, com- 
manded him to take back his wife, and to treat her kindly 
forever afterwards, and declared they would stand about his 
home, and keep him penned up till he starved to death, if he 
did not obey them. 

Awed by their number and their shrill chattering and 
screaming, he was glad to be rid of them, chose the lesser of 
two evils, and took back his wife. They made him promise 
that he would' never again turn her from him. 

Poor Hallo ! I was extremely sorry for him, and made up 



86 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

my mind to never, never marry, as I watched that scolding 
crowd of women disperse to their various homes. The women 
do not love each other in particular, but they do protect one 
another from any fancied wrong, and all resent a fancied slight 
or grievance put upon one of their number. 

At the school to which they are sent they are taught many 
useful trades, and they make their living by working at these 
trades ; and some of the women do very fine work indeed. 
They embroider with gold and silver thread the tunics and 
togas of the king and chiefs ; and some of it was truly exquisite. 
I have often stood and watched a native girl at work embroider- 
ing, and the quietness and ease with which she worked silver 
palm trees, golden elephants, moons, half-moons, and running 
vines, was really wonderful. Then others are hairdressers, and 
do nothing else but go around among the richer natives, comb- 
ing, oihng, and arranging their hair for them, on an average of 
three times every week. Inscriptions to the gods are cut upon 
the silver shields and defenses worn at war time by the chiefs, 
and it is the women who sometimes cut them. Besides these 
there are housekeepers, singers, dancers, and sewers. Each 
woman is taught something useful. And this fact of having 
abihty in some line cannot but help in uphfting the women, 
and teaching them self-respect, as nothing else can. 

They do not break the ground to any extent ; and the 
wives of poor men grind the corn for their bread between large, 
flat stones ; and when a place has been cleared of wood, and 
the brush burnt by the men, the rest of the soil cultivation is 
left for the poorer class of women. 

Father's wives were never obliged to perform manual labor. 
The wives of kings seldom, if ever, are obliged to do so. 

My mother and Taradobah were especially favored by father ; 
mother because of her high birth, Taradobah because of her 
position as best-loved wife. They had little if anything to do, 
and his other wives waited on them, obeyed their slightest wish, 
as if they had been slaves, which in one respect they were. 
When father would take a new wife, Taradobah used to seem 
pleased, and say to mother, "One more servant to run for us." 

Since each chief had so many wives, things did not always 
go so pleasantly and harmoniously as he could have wished 
them. I distinctly remember some of the domestic broils 
vyhich often took place, and strengthened my vow to lead a life 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 87 

of celibacy. Naturally enough, there was a good deal of jeal- 
ousy among the wives as to the one who should be first in their 
husband's affections. 

In most cases they managed to hide their feelings bravely 
enough, and made no demur when hurt or angry. Once or 
twice, to the best of ray recollection, the women got into seri- 
ous quarrels among themselves. They were very serious in- 
deed, for they came to bloodshed, and before their anger had 
spent itself and become appeased, several of their number were 
wounded. In this way they vented upon each other the angry 
feelings they dared not show before their lords and masters. 

There were two women of one chief who were furiously 
jealous of each other; one day they disagreed. Their example 
became contagious, and spread rapidly around among the 
others who were near enough to know of it. They flocked to 
the scene of the combat, and dog-like entered into it, striking 
out right and left, and biting with a vim and enthusiasm worthy 
of a better cause. In this instance the men were called upon 
to separate them ; which they accomplished after some time 
with the aid of stout wooden clubs. 

The young girls who came from school had, many of them, 
rather beautiful forms, which I much admired. They were 
full and rounded, without being grossly fat, and, what is better 
still, they keep their beauty of contour quite late in life ; which 
is something peculiar to them, I think, most African women 
becoming hideously emaciated as the years go on, or just as 
hideously gross and fleshy. 

Their limbs have not been subjected to the restraints of an 
absurd amount of clothing ; and their waists are not compressed, 
like the waists of the civilized woman. 

I have seen many of my native women who were as finely 
formed as are any of the representations of an ideal Venus in 
art. 

The Vey girl does not wear clothing of any kind until she 
reaches the age of ten. Then she puts on an apron made of 
the skin of some animal. As she grows older, she wears a 
cloak or tunic wrapped about her, and fastened on one • shoul- 
der. If she be the favorite wife of a wealthy man, then this 
mantle is plentifully and elaborately trimmed and decorated 
with beads and silver work. She wears gaudy bracelets and 
anklets, and gold and silver hair ornaments. She goes forth 



88 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

" the mold of fashion, the glass of form — the observed of all 
observers," filling the less fortunate of her sex with ill-concealed 
envy at the sight. 

The poorer women have no gold or silver, and make up for 
this deficiency by wearing brass and tin jewelry ; and fastening 
up their hair with thorns, aiming to look as fine and attractive 
as they can. 

Of the king's wives, she who can boast of the highest birth 
holds the keys of what is known as the "storehouse." The 
storehouse is a large hut, in which is kept the food and clothing 
of the king's wives. I have spoken of this in connection with 
my own mother, who held this position. 

I have spoken at length, also, of the x\mazons, — the posi- 
tion they hold, their character, and the duties which they owe 
to society. 

There are the women known as " the dancers." They do 
nothing else but dance, and are as graceful and fleet of foot as 
so many Atalantas. 

How much my people loved dancing, and how much they 
danced ! I was very fond of it myself, and used to enter into 
it with more zest at this time than I put into anything else, ex- 
cept, possibly, fighting; for I was too eager and anxious for 
another battle to be content with the rather monotonous life 
which Bendoo presented at this time. 

We began to dance at sundown, and continued it till long 
after midnight. 

"When the sun goes down all Africa dances," is a common 
phrase, and a true one. 

We might almost be called "the dancing tribe," we are so 
fond of it. 

The girls go through the steps of the various dances with 
a peculiar undulation and grace of body, and enter into it with 
so much zest and evident enjoyment, that the latter emotion 
always proves contagious to the onlooker. The forms of the 
girls are adapted to artistic posing; and though they are all 
unconscious of it, they often make very fine pictures and 
groups, seeming to have an innate sense of the artistic. It is 
difficult for me to say which are the better dancers, the young 
girls or the boys. 

We — a dozen or more of us — girls and boys would dance 
ourselves into a wild frenzy, — dance till we had completely lost 



TO THE LIGHT OF AI^IERICA. 89 

the control of our limbs, which whirled and dashed us about, 
twisted and turned our bodies in a fashion that takes away the 
breath. The on-lookers enjoyed the ''frenzy" dance exceed- 
ingly, while the musicians kept time with these violent move- 
ments as best they could. Sometimes we danced alone, or 
singly ; and sometimes we danced in groups, singing or chanting 
in a wild, weird way, — especially true in times of honor festivals 
given to the gods, or at wedding or funeral services. 

Altogether it used to be a pretty, interesting scene in the 
cool, delicious moonlight evenings, — the red light of the fires 
that were burning incense to some god, shedding their light 
over the dancing figures, and the dark faces and picturesque 
costumes of the spectators. 

One of the women — she who was considered the best 
dancer — was constituted a kind of leader, and she flung her 
limbs about in the wildest possible manner ; while the rest of 
us imitated her movements to the best of our ability. 

There is nothing immodest about the dance nor the 
dancers, nothing that could offend the purest-minded person ; 
the dancers themselves were and are perfectly innocent of any- 
thing indecorous. They dance and caper about with as little 
thought of impropriety as a child would have or a kitten. 

At our evening enjoyments there was always a great deal of 
noise, for noise was one of the chief elements of a good time. 
These were some of the happiest moments in my hfe, if I had 
only known of it. 

After we were wearied with dancing we gathered about the 
fires, and laughed and joked at one another's expense ; and 
sang in such a wild, witchy way, that I doubt if you would have 
called it singing. This singing was always accompanied with 
the drum, and the songs we sang were usually the compositions 
of one of the medicine-men. 

Every month we had what was known by the people as the 
"giant dance." Father would appoint one of the lesser 
priests to carefully watch the people of Bendoo for one month, 
to spy out their faults and failings, and make note of them. 
It was the duty of this priest to find out who of the people 
were liars, who deceivers or thieves, who were scandalmongers, 
and who were scolds, and to discover those men who were 
abusive to their wives and children. All the lazy ones and idle 
ones were watched, and their names taken note of, as were also 



9© FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

the names of those who were lax in performing the duties and 
respects which they owed to the king and the gods. 

The people know that they are being watched, but it is sel- 
dom they are able to discover the spy. 

As the first silver rim of a new moon begins to glimmer in 
the sky, the "giant dance" takes place. The priest, elevated 
on a pair of high stilts, with flowing robes of brilliant hues cov- 
ering these, and resembling the famous giantess of storybooks,- 
stalks majestically through the town, armed with a big, stout 
stick. 

He was at liberty to enter the huts of any who had proved 
themselves worthy of punishment, and beat the inmates as 
severely as he pleased. The degree of severity exercised in 
their chastisement depended, of course, upon the degree of 
their offense. The people had no right to defend themselves ; 
they could do nothing but yield, and bear with the blows as 
best they knew how. Woe to the liar, the disrespectful, the 
scandalmonger at those times! The "giant" had no mercy 
upon them, and he was especially merciless to the liar. 

After he had gone the rounds, and chastised those who had 
deserved it, he executed a queer, impromptu dance, and pre- 
sented a comical and ludicrous sight enough, hopping about 
like a distressed mountain, on his stiff, wooden legs. 

It used to surprise me a good deal at the number of huts 
found vacant, whose owners found pressing business out of 
town when it was time for the "giant dance" — a case, I pre- 
sume, where guilty consciences need no accusers ; and so the 
men and women were prone to flee from the medicine-man's 
rod of correction. 

I was punished once or twice myself, on the strength of a 
fancied or real disrespect shown to one of the old chiefs. 

It was only natural that I should become enamored of 
some of the girls. I became very fond of a tall, well-formed 
girl, the daughter of a chief, Zuse by name. 

Until I expressed my admiration for Zuse in little warmer 
terms than usual, we had been together in the games and 
dances ; but as soon as I hinted to father that I cared for her, 
and would like to make her my wife, we were separated, and 
allowed to have no communication with each other. At that 
time Zuse and I were both very young, but marriages con- 
tracted at an early age were not at all rare, but extremely 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. gi 

common. Father did not favor my suit at all. He told me 
that he desired that I should wait, and if I wanted the 
girl for my wife, he would see that she was kept for me till I 
was older. I thought this was very hard, and eyed Zuse from a 
distance with melancholy eyes. I was much given to attending 
marriage ceremonies, and trying to imagine myself in the bride- 
groom's place with Zuse as the bride. Poor Zuse, I wonder 
where she is to-day ! How many changes have taken place 
since then ! 

I have explained how negotiations are entered into between 
the parents of the young people wishing to marry. If the con- 
sent of both is gained, then, like Zuse and myself, the young 
couple are sedulously kept apart until the day of their marriage. 

The bride is led to the priests by her mother. They are 
attended by a sister of the bridegroom elect, if he chance to 
have one ; if not, then some other one of his female relatives 
takes this place, which is considered one of much honor, only 
second to that of the medicine-man. This relative is one who 
has always afterwards much to say and do in the future home of 
the contracting parties. 

The marriage ceremony was a strange mingling of the native 
and outside customs. An article of clothing is given in place 
of the customary ring known in this country. After marriage 
the girls remain with their parents till their husbands have built 
them huts. When this is completed she left the home of her 
people, and, accompanied by the women of the district, went 
to her husband's hut. The women who went with her grouped 
about the door and chanted doleful and dreary melodies, sup- 
posed to express their sorrow for the loss of their friend. 

They twisted their bodies about like the contortionists that 
they were, and called down the blessings of all the gods upon 
their heads. Then, still chanting their gloomy songs, withdrew 
from the hut and left the bride to her husband and to peace. 

The skin of a Vey babe at its birth is very white, and months 
pass sometimes before it assumes the hue of its parents. 

When a child is born the medicine-man is called. He 
anoints it with ointments, rubbing these into small incisions 
which he makes upon the child's body. 

The baby is strapped on the back of its mother, who thus 
carries it about everywhere with her, till it grows to be quite a 
large child. It is kept in place on her back by means of a wide 



9 5 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

Strip of soft skin, that is sometimes lined with soft cotton. This 
is passed about her waist in a manner that leaves a kind of 
pouch behind, and in this the babe lies snugly and safely. It 
is often made of an antelope skin, and when belonging to a rich 
chiefs wife, was finely embroidered. In such a cradle as I have 
described I spent my infant days. 

One day, as I played in a half-hearted fashion with the 
boys, — for my whole mind was in the future battles that might 
take place, — I heard that Zolusingbe had come from the school, 
and was dying in the hut of a medicine-man. With real sorrow 
I went to him. He had been bitten by a cobra. He was so 
swollen and disfigured with pain, that I had some difficulty in 
recognizing my old friend. He smiled feebly when I entered 
the hut, and held out his hand to me. 

"I am going, Besolow," he said ; "ask the gods to allow me 
to go to Igenie. Be a brave warrior always. Never run ; die 
a thousand times over before you will be a coward." He died 
that night, and was sincerely mourned, for he was an old, well- 
beloved chief. 

His body was treated with the utmost respect, and, as is the 
custom, was buried a few hours after death ; in this case the 
funeral services took place before sunrise the next day. 

We had a cemetery portioned off in each district for the 
burial of the dead, and to the one at the outskirts of Bendoo, 
he was reverently borne in the arms of two of the priests. 

Musicians with drums and clappers played airs as doleful 
and woeful as you can imagine. I remember those who had 
no drums came with tin pans and sharply polished sticks. An 
appropriate song was sung. 

High ideas of music have never been cultivated by my peo- 
ple ; but such ideas as they do possess, they enjoy and employ 
to their utmost. 

The war weapons of Zolusingbe were laid about his grave 
with his favorite food ; and a half-dozen cattle were killed. 
This is true in the case of all funeral ceremonies. All the 
worldly possessions of the deceased man or woman are placed 
around their grave. A Vey cemetery presents a somewhat 
odd and grotesque appearance. 

Before Zolusingbe's hut a sacred fire was kept burning for 
many days, and attended to with the utmost love and care. 
This to light and warm the spirit if it be floating in space, and 
not as yet consigned to Igenie. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 93 

I mourned a great deal for my old friend ; but soon I had a 
terrible fancied trouble of my own, that for the time quite drove 
all thoughts of anybody else from my mind. My father was 
again talking of sending me to Cape Mount Mission. In vain 
mother pleaded with him not to send me away ; in vain, also, 
was all Taradobah's reasoning ; in vain all my mother's sacri- 
fices to the gods : father remained obdurate, and declared that 
go I should. 

I wept, and besought him not to send me among those hor- 
rible people with the white skin and hair. I took no consolation 
from his words that they were not "horrible," but were very 
kind, and would treat me well. 

Every morning I feared lest he should bind me, and un- 
known to my mother and Taradobah, bear me off willy nilly. 

Bitterly my mother grieved. Dear mother ! She loved me 
very dearly, and she felt sure that if I went away she would 
never see me again. 



94 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER X. 

"It is no small conquest to overcome yourself." — Old Proverb. 

" Harken, harken ! 
God speaketh in thj soul : 
I am the end of love ; 

Give love to me." 

— Mrs. Browning. 

AT THE MISSION. 

For a time it seemed that mother and Taradobah would 
prevail upon father not to send me away, for he ceased talking 
about it, and left me in peace. " My dear boy, my dear Beso- 
low," my mother would say to me, "I would rather have you 
die before my eyes than have you sent away, I know not 
where." 

" My mother," I would reply, " I would much sooner die 
than go ; pray that my father may not send me." My father's 
chief interpreter, if I may so term him, was a bright young 
negro, who had come from the southern part of the United 
States of America, and who had more advanced ideas on most 
matters pertaining to civilization than anyone in our territory. 
Father thought a great deal of Curtis, and Curtis seemed to 
have father's interests very much at heart. 

Father did an extensive trade in liquor and tobacco. The 
traders who brought these commodities to our territory were 
dealers in Boston, Massachusetts, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, 
Spain, England, and especially in Germany. Germany sent 
more liquor to our shores than all the other countries. It is 
and was a miserable shame, and a disgrace to the men who 
burlesque the name of civilization, to bring their poor rum and 
poisonous tobacco, and put it in the way of ignorant, hot- 
headed, excitable savages, who under its influence grew more 
degraded and less responsible for their actions. It is the 
strongest subject of which I can think for a temperance lesson. 
In many cases all good that might be accomplished by the 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 95 

missionaries is set at naught by the evil of drink. Is there 
nothing that can and may be done to prevent this contemptible 
traffic between rum-dealers and ignorant savages ? They come 
to our shores with their devilish wares, and take away in 
exchange immense quantities of gold dust, valuable ivory, and 
other rich products of our land too numerous to mention. 

Such an unfair, one-sided, contemptible business ought to 
be stopped. Right here I would like to speak of another dis- 
grace ; this time it falls upon the English people. In exchange 
for our wares, the same ship that may bring to our shores a 
missionary, brings thousands of carved and decorated idols for 
us to worship! 

Think of it ! Give it but a moment's consideration ! What 
must be the minds, what must be the nature, of the men who 
have these idols made to sell to the unfortunate, credulous 
African ! These facts are food for thought ; and they should 
be pondered by all who are interested in banishing heathenism 
from the " Dark Continent." 

The young Southerner, Curtis, saw what evil results were 
following in the train of the immense rum traffic, and, as I 
afterwards learned, tried in every way to have my father cease 
trading in it ; but father was obdurate, and closed his eyes to 
the misery it was causing. He had immense warehouses on 
the coast. To these barrels and barrels of cheap, villainous 
whiskey and poor rum were sent up the Niger River and Peso, on 
the banks of which were other stations of his. The liquor would 
go from one to the other ; and as it passed from place to place 
it would be drank freely, and the whole population of a town 
would often be beastly intoxicated at one time. 

I remember, in Bendoo, when I was quite a youth, my 
father had on hand hundreds and thousands of gallons of 
whiskey, gin, and wine of all kinds. When Bendoo was seem- 
ingly in her best condition, and everything looked prosperous, 
and my father was accumulating vast wealth from this traffic, a 
king of Lake Tchad region, of the Cossa tribe, Cobbar by name, 
besieged Bendoo for three days and three nights. The town 
becoming pressed for lack of food and water, father was 
defeated, and the Cossas took Bendoo into their possession. 
They began to drink much of the liquors, till they became 
intoxicated, and like mad men they fell upon the helpless 
inhabitants of the town. They butchered their captives in the 



96 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

most cruel manner ; completely sacked Bendoo ; gathered 
together all the relatives of the king, and killed and tortured 
them to death, one by one. They took some of the captives, 
those who had escaped the knife or fire, outside of the barricade 
which they had raised. I was one of these captives. Cobbar 
came to me in person, and asked me my preference, whether I 
should rather go with him to his territory as a captive, and with 
the thought that my father, who had escaped from the maraud- 
ers, might rescue me, or should I prefer to be butchered. I 
I was not afraid, and so I looked him directly in the eye, and 
said calmly, "I have no choice, King Cobbar; I leave the 
matter entirely with you." 

Mother was with me, and when she saw how disconcerned 
I was about saving my life, she whispered to me to be respect- 
ful and humble, and accept the former proposition of my 
captor. She said she would see to it that father redeemed me 
very soon. I listened to mother, and told Cobbar that I would 
return with him, though I never expected to return alive. 
Then he told my mother that she might take her departure, 
as it is a custom among the Cossa people to release all female 
captives when they shall have taken a town and sacked it ; 
but my mother refused to leave me. She told Cobbar that 
she should rather he would kill her than force her to go with- 
out her son. 

Cobbar at this time was greatly disappointed, for when he 
besieged Bendoo he made sure that he had blockaded and sur- 
rounded the town so securely that my father would easily 
fall into his possession ; but by the aid of imperial guards 
father cut his way through the whole lines of Cobbar and 
escaped. It was one of the most daring exploits that Bendoo 
men, who are nothing, if not daring, forced their way through 
the whole Cossa army ; bravely dying or falling wounded on 
every side, but caring for nothing so long as they were enabled 
to bear my father and their well-beloved king to a place of 
safety ; and in this noble and loyal attempt they were successful. 

It is a wonder at this point that Cobbar, who was much 
enraged and chagrined at father's escape, should have saved the 
lives of any of his relatives ; but the spirit moved him, and he 
took mother and myself in his train, and leaving Bendoo he 
went into Tocoroh, one of father's fortified cities that had been 
sacked by Cobbar two weeks before he had besieged Bendoo. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 9^ 

He made this town his headquarters. It was built on four 
hills, bearing similarity to old Rome. On the left-hand side, 
towards the region of Abyssinia, ran the River Peso. Over this 
is built a bridge about one fourth of a parasang. The river 
itself is about ten plethron. After Cobbar had entered the 
stronghold he prepared to receive an attack, which he ex- 
pected might come from the western part of the town, for that 
was the most vulnerable point to attack. By this very fact he 
was misled. Father had many hundred native soldiers, stole a 
march upon him, by making a nocturnal attack on the eastern 
side. He had the bridge cut down and had climbed the barri- 
cades with his soldiery, and was besieging the town almost be- 
fore Cobbar and his men knew it. They were taken completely 
off their guard. 

When he had to some degree recovered his equilibrium, 
Cobbar turned all his forces of arms towards father and the 
eastern part of the town. Then about one half of father's men 
stole around and attacked him from the rear. Then arose the 
clamor of war, the twang of bow and arrow, the whizzing sound 
of spear. The conflict continued for many hours, till Cobbar, 
hard pressed on all sides, began to yield. 

While all this was going on your humble servant, bound 
hands and feet among the other captives, was wondering 
how long the battle would last, and whispering petitions to 
the gods that my father might be victor. With bated breath 
we, myself and captives, talked over the probable result of the 
battle. Mother, as most women would have done, began to 
cry, and was very despondent. She heard a man say in Vey 
that the batde was lost to our people. From the eminence 
upon which she stood, through the mist, she thought she could 
see some of the forces of father, and they were retreating. 
She clasped her hands and moaned pitifully. 1 restrained her 
from giving vent to her fret and worry all that I could, but it 
availed me nothing. In the midst of her moaning a very dear 
young fellow, Mumbru, who lay close beside me, was shot by an 
arrow in the left side by some of the soldiers below the hill, and 
he died in a few minutes. In almost the same breath another 
man received an arrow in the eye. The wound bled profusely, 
and in a short time he bled to death, internally. Mother 
stopped her moaning then, to attend to the needs of the dying, 
suffering men. 



98 PROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

After a hard fight Cobbar was defeated, and father l^ecame 
master of the town once more. He reheved mother and me, 
and the rest of the prisoners ; and then Cobbar — who was not 
fortunate enough to escape as father had done — and his soldiery 
were made prisoners of war. 

The next morning, at about eight o'clock, 250 men in civihzed 
armor came from the Repubhc of Liberia to assist and give aid 
to my father if he had been in want of it. He thanked them 
heartily, but told them, what they could easily see for themselves, 
that they were just too late. The battle was over ; the struggle 
was ended. 

At ten o'clock Cobbar and the men imprisoned with him 
were brought into the market-place. Father asked Cobbar what 
he should do with him. 

Cobbar told him that he could do whatever he felt disposed 
under the circumstances. Father questioned him as to his 
purpose of entering his territory. He asked Cobbar if he had 
been instigated by some other party or parties, or if some 
relative of his (father's) had persuaded him to besiege Bendoo. 
He said a friend of father's, one Barlakikbaila, had persuaded 
him to do what he had. 

A messenger was despatched to Baila. The messenger soon 
returned. Baila emphatically denied that he had done any- 
thing towards persuading Cobbar towards making an invasion of 
Vey territory. The next day Baila came himself with 1,500 or 
1,600 men, all heavily armed. 

A court-martial was held, and to this court-martial all the 
chiefs in the vicinity were summoned ; and especially those 
whom Cobbar had implicated in anyway concerning the attack 
on Bendoo. Each and every one of these affirmed that they 
had not had anything to do with the affair. 

Then said father to Cobbar, "What hast thou to say for 
thyself? Thine own words have made thee a liar." According 
to our court-martial laws, especially among the Mandingo and 
Vey, a man having been found guilty of such a traitorous act is 
put to death by the sword of the king, especially if the convict 
be a king. So Cobbar was bound hands and feet with the men 
who were captured with him and taken to a place of safe- 
keeping. 

Here he was beheaded by father's own hand, and the other 
captives were put to death by the other men. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AIMERICA. 99 

These disagreeable duties over, the court-martial disbanded, 
and we returned to Bendoo. The dear town of my birth was 
buried in ashes. Such a great sadness filled my heart at the 
sight. For the first and last time in my life I saw my father 
lean on his spear and weep, as his eye took in the sad state of 
affairs in his once flourishing town. I do not think he wept so 
much over the loss of money and property, as he did over his 
defeat in the first contest with Cobbar. That was a circum- 
stance which he felt to be more or less of a disgrace ; and the 
property which he lost was no slight loss. A great many people 
have erroneous ideas on this point. They think when we speak 
of African chiefs and kings that they haven't anything. Now, 
they are very much mistaken ; they are laboring under false 
impressions. 

My own father, King Carttom, was a very wealthy man. I 
can bring Messrs. Wilber & Broom, Chiswick & Bros., the 
former in Hamburg the latter in England, also Werner & Co., 
Hamburg, as witnesses that father lost over ^200,000 worth of 
whiskey at that time. It had been spilled into the streets, 
drank, and burnt by Cobbar's troops. All of which now, in 
spite of the money loss, I think is a good thing. 

I remember this very well because these various parties were 
father's creditors, and they pushed him very strictly for the pay, 
and on this account father found himself in a position that was 
anything but pleasant ; but my father, Armah, was a vigorous 
man, and not easily discouraged, and so he soon paid up his 
debts. After he got his debts paid he rebuilt Bendoo. 

To resume the thread of my story. Curtis thought that the 
future welfare of the Vey land depended upon father's sons, 
and consequently favored the idea of having us sent to the 
mission, learning the English tongue, and the customs. He 
came to me and talked to me earnestly, and as I had never 
been talked to before in all my life. I liked Curtis, and so I 
listened to what he told me, and pondered over it afterwards. 

I was fond of rum myself, and often got drunk at that 
young age, and so resented all that he said about what a good 
and glorious thing it would be for the people if it were abol- 
ished altogether, or, at least, the trade in it diminished. He 
persisted, and talked so well that I found myself becoming 
interested, and almost believing that it would be best for my 
people if they did not have so much liquor to drink ; and 



lOO FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

promising him that if ever I had the power to restrain it, I 
would do so. But when he touched on the subject of my going 
to the mission, I flared into a temper, and declared if he said 
another word about it I would leave him immediately. 

"Now, Besolow," he said, " listen and have patience." His 
African, which he had mastered in a wonderfully short time, 
was very stilted and stiff, but I well understood him. 

" Listen to me, my boy. Why are you so averse to going 
away to the mission?" 

"I do not want to leave my home," I said ; '' I do not want 
to leave my mother ; I do not want to leave my people. I 
want to be a brave warrior, and take part in all the battles that 
may occur between my tribe and any other. I want to be a 
strong and powerful hunter. I want to lead the free, happy life 
of my people, and not go among a new, strange kind of people, 
who will do with me and to me as they please." 

" You will only be away from your home and people a very 
short space of time ; and when you come back, Besolow, things 
will appear to you in a very different light from what they do at 
the present." 

"I do not want them to appear differently," I said stub- 
bornly. " I am well satisfied that things should be as they are. 
Why should I seek a change ? So long as there are plenty of 
battles to fight, and plenty of game to hunt, why should I 
desire a change? I do not." 

" At the mission, my boy, you would see such superior ways 
of living, that you would be dissatisfied with the present state 
of affairs. 

"All the more reason, then, that I should not go, Curtis. 
Zolusingbe used to teach us that contentment with our lot was 
something to be acquired and kept always, if we cared for 
happiness." 

" Contentment with our lot in life is all very well, Besolow ; 
but the people or person without an ambition, without an aim 
in hfe, don't amount to very much after all." 

He saw that I could not comprehend or grasp this last 
meaning of his, so he began again to talk of the mission and 
the white people. 

"There is notliing about the white people to fear, Besolow. 
I have lived among them all my life." 

"And are alive !" I said in amazement, "and not crippled 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. Id 

or bewitcl>ed !" "Ah," with a shake of my head, "but you 
may be yet rendered miserable ! Our gods may yet visit you 
with a direful punishment for passing your life with those white 
faces. You do not know how awful that punishment may be 
that will yet befall you." 

" If it were a crime to live with white people," he answered, 
with a smile, " I was not to blame. I was born among them. 
I had no choice in the matter ; but, Besolow, let me tell you 
about them. Let me tell you how kind they are, and how well 
they treat us blacks. They have great interest in us. They 
will teach you of the Lord Jesus Christ," he said, " and you 
will be glad to know of him." It was a new name to me, and 
I thought it the name of one of their earthly kings or chiefs ; 
and I cared not to learn of him. The precious name so dear 
to me afterwards, so infinitely dear and full of meaning to me 
now, fell meaningless on my ear then, and growing exceedingly 
vexed at Curtis' persistency in talking to me of a subject at 
once so beyond and hateful to my comprehension, I left him, 
forbidding him to speak of it again to me. 

Not only was Curtis continually talking to father about 
sending me off (for which at the time I began to hate him 
heartily) , but a Dutch trader, Bromm, \vas interested also. He 
told him how much better his own sons would prove as inter- 
preters than so many strangers. They would not be so apt to 
cheat and defraud him as those would who were not relatives. 
Between the two of them, father's mind was kept pretty full of 
the project of sending me away. 

One day I went into mother's hut and found her in tears. 
She clasped me warmly to her breast, and wept over me bitterly. 
I knew the cause, and instinctively clung to her, and mingled 
my tears with her own. 

" My boy, my boy, the decision is final now. You are to 
go away from me, and I fear I will never see you again. I 
dare not plead with your father any further, for he threatened 
me with a disgraceful punishment if I did. Oh ! why is it that 
the gods have so disregarded my prayers ? Dozens of infants 
have been given to the crocodiles, and prisoners innumerable 
have I had offered to Carnabah and the Moon. Sacred fires 
burn constantly before the household gods and idols, and yet, 
alas ! alas ! they have not listened — they have not heeded my 
supplications that my dear boy, my favorite boy, may remain 
with me," 



102 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

"When am I going, mother?" I asked. 

"I do not know. Very soon. Perhaps to-day." 

'*0h !" I said bitterly; and added, with a fire that makes 
me ashamed to remember, " May the curses of all the gods, 
who did not grant our prayers, — yours and mine, — fall upon 
the heads of Bromm and Curtis, who have brought this thing 
about ! May they never know a moment's peace, and upon 
their death, languish in Cayanpimbi forever ! " 

"Amen!" said my mother. "I will not go," 1 said. 
"Good-bye, mother." An idea had flashed upon my mind 
as I stood there ; I would run away ! I bade her an 
affectionate good-bye and took to the woods. How desolate 
and lonely I felt, fleeing farther and farther away from the 
people who afterwards were my best friends. How strange it 
seems to me now, that strange aversion and fear that filled my 
heart towards the white people. I beiieve, nay, I know, that I 
would willingly have died at that time sooner than have gone to 
the mission. For two or three days I wandered about in the 
thick woods, evading the searchers father had sent to find me ; 
but at length they overtook me, and, bound hand and foot, 
brought me back to Bendoo and to my father. He was very 
angry with me. I can see his eyes flash now as they did then. 
"Do you know," he said, "that I could kill you for this 
escapade of yours?" 

"Yes," I answered fearlessly; "and I wish you would, 
father, rather than send me away." He approached me with 
short-sword uplifted as if to strike ; but I calmly regarded him 
without moving a muscle, and as he looked into ray eyes, his 
arm dropped to his side and he stepped back. 

I was bound hand and foot to a tree, and severely thrashed 
by two men with long leather straps, under father's supervision. 
I can see my mother's pitying, wistful eyes as she passed me ; 
but she dared not speak to me or give me food. When I 
was finally cut down I was very weak, and without waiting 
for my strength to return, father forced me to accompany 
him on a journey, the destination of which I knew only too 
well. Fainting and gasping by the way, father brought me 
through the forests to Cape Mount. We traveled, I think, 
for at least two days, and I was little more than a living 
skeleton when we finally arrived at our destination. And 
now I must tell you of my first view of the long-dreaded 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. IO3 

white man. We came through forests all the way, coming 
out very suddenly at the side of the superintendent's (Mr. 
Roberts) unpretending house. When we came around to 
the front of the house I saw the gentleman himself, seated 
on the piazza, reading. His back was turned slightly, and at 
first I did not see his face ; but upon hearing our footsteps he 
turned squarely about, and then for the first time in my life, 
strange as it may seem, I looked upon the face of a white man. 

My heart beat violently as, rising, he came towards us with 
an outstretched hand and a smile upon his face. I didn't know 
what to do — whether to stand my ground or run. 

As I stood deliberating upon which course of action to 
decide, Mrs. Roberts, his wife, came to the door. Alas ! one 
of these odd, new kind of people was bad enough ; but two of 
them were more than my valor was proof against. I told foot 
to help body, and ran back into the woods as rapidly as my 
enfeebled condition would allow. Father came after me, while 
Curtis explained to Mr. Roberts who I was and the purpose for 
which I had come, and had, I suppose, a good part, if not all 
of the business transactions completed before father brought 
me back, a trembling, wretched boy enough. Mrs. Roberts 
came down the piazza steps with a reassuring smile upon her 
lips. 

I huddled to my father's side, and clenched his hand in a 
grasp that, with all his strength, he found it impossible to 
unclasp, 

" Send it away ! " I cried to him, " send it away ! " and I 
screamed in fear as she approached nearer to me. 

" Now, Besolow," said father, "you are acting the part of a 
coward, and if they had you in Bendoo, they would kill you 
as one. I am surprised and disappointed in you, for I thought 
that my son was a brave boy." This had the effect of compos- 
ing me somewhat, but did not alleviate my fear in the slightest, 
and I begged father piteously to take me back again to Ben- 
doo. When they attempted to lead me up the piazza steps, I 
flung myself face downward in the dust, which I beat in clouds 
about me, calling upon the gods at the top of my voice to have 
pity upon me, and to either kill me or save me from the 
threatened fate. I think father became so enraged at my con- 
duct that he would have killed me then if it hadn't been for 
the interference of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts. When they found 



I04 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA. 

that they could not prevail upon me to go peacefully, they were 
obliged to bind me hand and foot, and in this manner they 
carried me into the house and up the stairs, and left me in a 
narrow little room, locking the door securely after them. I do 
not like to think of that time. When I do I fall into the weak- 
ness of pitying myself. 

I lay helpless on the floor of the room. A stranger in a 
strange place, I moaned, and sobbed, and almost died of agony ; 
and at last, tired, over-taxed nature asserted itself, and with the 
miserable tears clinging to my face, I fell asleep. I was awak- 
ened by somebody entering the room. It was too dark for me 
to see whom, and I lay trembling and wondering, what the 
errand of the person could be. "Well, Besolow, are you 
awake?" It was father's voice, and I drew a relieved sigh as I 
answerer:! "Yes, sir." 

"And have you made up your mind to behave yourself?" 
"Yes, sir." "That is well. Now listen: these people will 
treat you kindly. Learn what they have to teach as soon as 
you can, and then you may return." He undid the bindings 
and assisted me to rise. I could scarcely stand upon my feet, 
I was so weak, and staggered from side to side like a drunken 
man. 

" Now good-bye," he said, and he took my hand in his. 
"Good-bye." I faltered. I was determined to be brave, but 
it cost me more of an effort than I can well explain, to refrain 
from flinging myself at his feet and imploring to be taken back 
home again. Curtis came to bid me good-bye, but I turned 
my back and would have no words with him. When he per- 
sisted in talking, and trying to reconcile me to the inevitable, 
I wheeled about on him with a suddenness that startled him. 
" It is you who has done this," I said. "I hate you for it, 
and if you do not go I will kill you !" He left the room, not, 
I think, because he was afraid of my threat, but because he saw 
how useless it was to try to reason with me then. 

Somebody came and placed some yams inside the door; 
but I partook of nothing till morning. I felt like a wild beast 
who has had the great forest for his home, and is caught 
suddenly and kept in a six by ten cage. 

In the morning I heard a step outside. I shrank into the 
farthest comer and buried my face in my hands. I suddenly 
felt upon my arm a soft, caressing touch. It made me think 



TO. THE LIGHT OF ALIERICA. I05 

of my mother, and with a sudden calm I looked up into the 
face of the kind Mrs. Roberts. She was a short, plump lady, 
with an intelligent, kindly face and a profusion of sleek, black 
hair. Nothing -very formidable about her. 

*• Besolow," she said, in a sweet voice but very bad African, 
" will you come downstairs with me now and have some break- 
fast?" I threw her hand off my arm rudely, and buried my 
face from sight. I am afraid she must have thought me a 
hopeless case, for without another word she left the room, 
locking it after her. As she went away and left me alone with 
my thoughts again, I began to cry in a hopeless, dreary way. 
Distinctly I remember some of the thoughts that flitted through 
my brain. Doubts of the gods ! Could there be gods, after 
all? Surely if there had been they would have listened to my 
earnest prayers, and granted them ; then a sudden fear took 
possession of me as I thought of how sacrilegious were my 
thoughts ! What terrible affliction might be visited upon me 
for entertaining such disrespectful ideas ! Humbly enough I 
begged their forgiveness. 

What was this king Jesus Christ Hke, of whom the white 
people thought so much ? He was white, like them, of course. 
Was he a very wonderful king ? Oh, how many long days passed 
before it was mine to realize what a mighty and wonderful 
king he was ! 

As the day wore on, I rose from my position which I had 
kept almost without change since Mrs. Roberts left me, and 
went to the window. I glanced out fearfully. On the road I 
saw a half-dozen African boys playing marbles in the dust. 
Strong, straight, good-looking fellows, clad very oddly, I 
thought, in pantaloons and jacket. They seemed to be 
enjoying themselves. There certainly wasn't a great amount 
of trepidation in the sounds of the merry, noisy laughter that 
reached my lonely ears ! I became interested in their antics, 
in spite of myself, and at last my own laughter called me to my 
senses and present condition. I left the window, and fell to 
wondering if after all they might not be kinder and pleasanter 
people than I had imagined them to be. Yes, maybe ; but 
certainly the Hfe would be a drear one if I was to be kept fas- 
tened up between four walls in this manner. Still, those boys 
had appeared happy enough. Thus, torn by doubts, and fears, 
and curiosity I passed the afternoon, and evening found me 



106 FROM THE DARKNESS OF ABRICA 

hungry enough to dispose of the yams. No one came near 
me that night, but the next morning Mrs. Roberts came to 
me again, and this time I was so mild and quiet that she led 
me out of the room and downstairs to the dining-room. 

When I first cast my eyes on the furnishings of the room, 
I was filled with amazement. I wondered if the chairs, and 
sofa, and carpet, and curtains, and the thousand and one little 
adornments of a civilized home were made by human hands or 
by a being supreme. She sat down on a chair, but I was afraid 
to do so, although she motioned me to be seated. Afraid of 
the consequence that might follow disobedience, I obeyed her 
gesture and sat gingerly on the chair's edge. Finally breakfast 
was brought in and served. 

Never shall I forget my astonishment at first beholding 
knives and forks, and the manner in which they were used. At 
last a half-dozen boys — some of them I recognized as the boys 
I had watched from the window — came in and took their places 
at the table, and Mr. Roberts took his place, and a place be- 
tween him and his wife was assigned to me. I was astonished 
that she, a woman, was allowed to sit at the table and eat with 
us ; for among my people the women are not allowed to eat 
with the guests. Do not imagine the wives never eat with their 
husbands, because they do ; but they are never permitted to 
do so when there is a third person present. 

They put the knife and fork into my hands, and bade me use 
them, telling me to watch them carefully to see how to do so. 
My efforts must have been ludicrous in the extreme, for, try 
hard as I would, I could not manipulate them properly. 

How could a man, I thought, ever get enough to eat at such 
a niggardly meal as this ? 1 thought it was the silliest thing for 
a man to have food scattered in a half-dozen different plates — 
salt here, butter there, meat on this plate and bread on that. 
What was the necessity of all this ? It could have been done 
by putting all together and eating out of one bowl. Breakfast 
over, Mrs. Roberts, upon whom I kept my eyes constantly 
fixed, took me with her to a bare, white-walled room, that I 
learned afterwards to call schoolroom. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. IO7 



CHAPTER XI. 

" I went to seek for Christ." — Lowell. 

" By desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite 
know what it is, and cannot do what we would, we are part of the 
Divine power against evil, widening the skirts of light, and inaking 
the struggle with darkness narrower." — George Eliot. 

" Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom. 
Lead Thou me on ; 
The night is dark, and I am. far from home ; 

Lead Thou me on." — J. H. Neivmaii. 

STRUGGLE FOR LIGHT. 

Mrs. Roberts began to teach me the alphabet immediately. 
She began with the letter A. She said it over and over, and 
obliged me to repeat it after her. She wrote it on a httle 
blackboard, and guided my hand while I wrote it also. My 
thoughts were not on the lesson, however ; they were far away, 
beyond the forests and hills, in my own town, with my own 
people ; so I accomplished nothing in that first lesson. I was 
sent to the little room upstairs again, and locked in, and here 
the sad, miserable tears began once more to flow. 

I wondered if I were my father's son. I half believed that 
I was not, and that he had sold me to these people. The boys 
I saw at breakfast, and again at dinner, were exceedingly well- 
behaved lads ; but they spoke nothing but English, as did 
everybody else about the table ; and so I felt strangely and 
more out of place than ever. Mrs. Roberts addressed herself 
to me once or twice, but I made no reply. Again I marveled 
at the scantiness of the meal, for it did look odd to see such 
small quantities of food on the table, when I had been used to 
sitting down to whole carcasses of animals. 

In the afternoon she again tried to teach me the letter A, 
with no better success than before. She told me that I might 
go out and play with the other boys that evening, who were 
running races, and playing what in this country is known by 
the name 'Meap frog." I went out, and stood bashfully on the 



108 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

piazza ; but the boys did not take any notice of me, nor invite 
me to join in their games, and I was glad when I was ordered 
again to my room. 

Thus the long days passed by. Can you imagine the sen- 
sations of a wild African boy fresh from the jungles, meeting 
from day to day people of foreign customs, and becoming used 
to the modes of civilized living, so different and so inferior, in 
his estimation, to those to which he has been accustomed? 

In the mission school where I studied, I think there must 
have been at least a hundred youths of my own age, all more 
or less bright and apt, and coming from all parts of Western 
Africa. 

Perhaps a word concerning the mission would not be amiss 
here. Mr. Roberts was a kind Christian man, who took a real 
interest in the many boys under his charge, and took particular 
pains to note the work and methods of all the teachers under 
him. He had a square wooden building, in which he and as- 
sistant teachers taught many classes every day ; and many other 
useful and practical trades. In his way he brought out all that 
was best in each of the young barbarians under his charge, in 
both a moral and material sense of the word. 

In the mission at Monrovia, which I afterwards attended, 
they are taught in the same manner, and when they have 
mastered the trade, they are taught to earn their own living by 
following it. 

The mission was neatly kept, and the boys seemed imbued 
with a sense of pride in keeping the grounds surrounding the 
different buildings clean and tidy, and seeing that the long, even 
roads that traverse the town were kept cleared of all obstacles. 

I studied patiently enough trying to master the alphabet, 
every day, from nine o'clock in the morning till six o'clock at 
night, with the exception of Saturday, upon which I was 
allowed to hunt, and on Sunday, when we rested from all labors. 

Father furnished me with the clothing required, which 
I found a great incumbrance ; also all the food I ate. When 
the messengers came with my food or other necessities de- 
manded for me by Mrs. Roberts, I would fly to them and ask 
of my home and people, and of my mother. They would tell 
me of all the loving messages mother had sent to me, and of 
how sad she was since my departure, and how often she wept. 
This would make me weep, too ; and I would bid the messen- 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. IO9 

gers to tell her how unhappy I was, in my turn, and of how I 
longed to get away from the mission. 

I was very miserable, and grew more so every day. I wished 
for death ; anything was preferable to this mean, pent-up exist- 
ence. I thought of all the bright dreams I had entertained of 
becoming a warrior and a brave hunter ; and this life was the 
outcome of it ! Instead of becoming a great and mighty king, 
and, in war, conquering the whole world, I was going to spend 
my whole existence shut up in this dreary house, with people 
who could not comprehend my language any better than I did 
theirs. 

I chafed and grew restless under this thought, and in think- 
ing of it, appeared to grow more stupid every day. 

Finally I found a messenger, a friend of mother's, by whom 
I sent word to her to send a posse of men, under the disguise 
of messengers, to take me away from the mission by stealth. 
Would she consent to this or would she lack courage or love to 
grant my request? I waited impatiently. When the day 
dawned when the messengers were to come, I wonder I did 
not excite the suspicion of my teacher, for I was so uneasy, and 
so little self-contained. 

They arrived, not a posse, as I had grandly asked for, but 
a half-dozen stout, able-bodied men. As usual I went to see 
them. It was growing dark (they had purposely waited till 
dusk), and under the cover of darkness they bore me away. 
I was taken to a village belonging to my mother, and hidden 
in a hut in the thickest part of the woods. I hoped father 
would not think of me as a runaway, and thus search for me 
throughout the kingdom, but think I had made away with my 
life, as I had threatened at the mission I would do, if not 
allowed to go home. The news came to him, however, that I 
had left the mission, presumably with the messengers. They, 
I learned afterwards, were called up before father, and upon 
denying all knowledge of me and my whereabouts, were 
promptly put in the stocks and severely punished. 

He had my mother brought before him. She was very 
calm, and said she knew nothing of me. If he had known the 
part she had taken in my flight her fate would have been 
similar to that of the men whom she had employed ; but she 
was so cool and persistent in denying all knowledge of my 
hiding place that she disarmed any suspicion that he might 
have had of her. 



I TO FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

As day after day wore on, and the searchers he had sent 
out to scour the woods between Bendoo and the mission re- 
turned without me, he became very much enraged at the 
thought that a boy could outwit him in such a manner, and set 
his laws at defiance. He was determined to find me, dead or 
alive. 

He sent out a proclamation through the different towns of 
his territory, running like this : — 

Any party or parties having my son Besolow in their possession 
or harbored in their territory, are hereby given notice that they will 
be allowed four days to either return him to me at Bendoo, or give 
me notice of his whereabouts. If at the end of that time the said 
party or parties do uot obey the command conveyed in this mes- 
sage, they will sacrifice their lives. 

Signed, King Armah, Bendoo, Upper Guinea. 

This proclamation was heralded over all the provinces by a 
messenger. You know, my dear reader, that I have told you 
before that the Veys and Mandingoes have a written alphabet, 
and they are the only ones. There may be other tribes who 
have, but they are unknown to me. 

If mother had been discovered in sheltering me in her 
village, her death would have followed suddenly and ignomini- 
ously. She put me in charge of about two hundred and fifty 
valiant men of her tribe, and sent us word of the proclamation 
which father had sent out. She advised us to keep to the 
thickest, densest part of the woods till the excitement of my 
disappearance should have blown over. 

We obeyed her commands, keeping in the very heart of the 
forest ; and in spite of the danger of capture hanging over our 
heads, had a very jolly time of it. We lived on bananas and 
oranges and the game which we killed ; and I was constantly 
comparing the grand freedom and enjoyment of such a life 
with the narrowness and discomfort of the life at the mission, 
which at that time I hated most bitterly. 

After a week's comparative safety, we heard the sound of 
bugles and hunting calls in the woods, and knew that traces of 
our whereabouts had been discovered, and the men were on 
our track. We evaded our pursuers for two days, but at last 
met. They numbered about two hundred men ; but they were 
some of the strongest and ablest in father's army. While the 
front ranks were engaged in fighting, an old chief spirited me 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. Ill 

away ; but we had not gone very far before we were captured. 
I was bound hand and foot, though I fought against it hke a 
wild-cat, and scratched and bit in a manner that was not 
stopped till superior strength and chastisement overcame me. 
Leaving the men fighting in the heart of the forest, several of 
father's old chiefs bore me off to Bendoo. When I was 
brought before father, bound hand and foot, and hungry, I 
expected he would be very angry, and would have my head 
struck off immediately. He only stood and regarded me with 
a smile of amusement on his face, and asked me if I had 
enjoyed my recreation. He said he would put an end to my 
life, only he knew that the greater punishment would be to 
have me return to the mission. The teachers should have the 
power to punish me in any way they might think best, for 
running away. He did not allow me to see mother, but had 
me sent, bound as I was, back to "Cape Mount." I think he 
rather admired my pluck in running away, and the aptness I 
showed in keeping out of the way of his searchers for so long a 
time. It was morning when I was brought back to the mission. 
Mrs. Roberts received me as if nothing had happened, and 
when the straps were cut from my wrists and ankles, led me 
into the house, into the white, bare schoolroom, and in the 
most matter-of-fact way placed an alphabet card in my hand. 
I had half an idea that my flight and all that attended it must 
have been a dreaiTi, things at the mission flowed on so evenly, 
and with the same monotonous regularity. Eat, study, eat, 
study, eat, bed. No one made any remarks on my absence, or 
took any notice of my return. Yes, it was some days before 
I could accustom myself to the idea that all that had happened 
in the last weeks was not a dream, but stern reahty. I made 
up my mind that stay I would not, and at the very first oppor- 
tunity away I went again. This time I made my way, with 
surprising rapidity and accurateness, to my father's big ware- 
house on the coast. I have explained it to you — a large 
house, forty by fifty feet long. Here the ships from this 
country and from England landed their freight of goods ; and 
stored at this station, also, were all the goods they would be apt 
to take away in exchange for what they had brought. 

I went to the home of one of father's interpreters and 
begged for food and shelter. I told her I had run av^^ay from 
the mission, where I was very unhappy, and begged her to 



I 1 2 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

shelter me. She was a kind-hearted woman, and without 
knowing whom she was sheltering, put me in a little room up- 
stairs and left me. I gazed out of the tiny window at the blue, 
bright ocean, dotted here and there with white sails, and as I 
gazed my imagination took another flight. I thought of the 
word America, as I had oftentimes heard it spoken. Where 
was America? Over the blue, dancing, sunlit waters lay the 
wonderful home of the white people. Why shouldn't I go 
there ? If my father was determined to keep me among white 
people, why not go directly to their country, and see the man- 
ner in which they lived when at home ? I could see there the 
king of whom Curtis had spoken to me once — Jesus Christ. 
There was no irreverence in these boyish thoughts. They were 
wild and ignorant, but earnest and honest enough. To get to 
America I would only have to go aboard one of those big ships, 
I supposed. There is no knowing what I should have done 
if the next morning Mr. Roberts had not put in an appearance. 
He had traced me to the coast, and soon found me out. 

I asked him if he were going to whip me. He assured me 
not that time, but for the future I must remain tied, and I did 
remain tied ; but even then I seemed determined to have my 
freedom, and several times afterwards gnawed the rope in two 
which bound me, and took to my heels. I do not wonder that 
they finally lost all patience with me, and thrashed me soundly 
for every misdemeanor that I committed. I was enough to try 
the patience of Job. I would not study, and a whole year 
passed before I had mastered the alphabet, so that I could say 
it with any degree of rapidity and accuracy. When, at length, 
I did succeed in mastering it I felt as proud and vain as a pea- 
cock, and asked permission to go home and exhibit my knowl- 
edge to my people. 

Leave of absence was granted to me. I believe the teachers 
didn't care much whether I ran away or not. I half think they 
would have been glad and thankful to be rid of me. But I did 
not run off; I went directly as I could to Bendoo. I showed 
father the permit given me by Mrs. Roberts, and told him that 
I had been taught all she could teach me, and I actually thought 
it was the truth. 

He was as proud of me as I was proud of myself. "In one 
year," he said, "when some boys I know have been studying 
at it for six and seven years and do not know it yet, you have 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. II3 

learnt all there was. O Besolovv, I 'm proud of you, my son. 
Speak to me in English." 

I rattled off the whole alphabet. He looked bewildered. 
I guess he thought I knew a great deal. Every time he spoke 
a phrase or two of his extremely limited English, I would reply 
by saying a number of the letters. Father appeared to be ver}' 
much troubled that he could not make out anything I said, 
and would ask me in African what I meant, and I would tell 
him I could not explain in African. I got along well enough 
till I met Curtis, and he very soon undeceived father as to my 
knowledge of the language. He told him that I knew nothing 
about English, and if he wished me to know something of it, he 
had better send me back to the mission ; and, like a bad penny, 
back I went. I felt more reconciled after my return this time, 
and gave no more trouble then about running away. I became 
intimate with a young man somewhat older than I was, Arma 
by name, whose father had sent him from Socoto, on my father's 
advice. He was a very bright boy, and was only a week, or 
perhaps two, in thoroughly learning the alphabet, and went on 
rapidly, soon being able to read little words and utter little 
phrases. I think the missionaries disliked me, because of my 
stupidity and dullness ; and for the opposite qualities in Arma, 
they admired and made much of him. 

I was dull ; I could not keep my mind concentrated on my 
lessons. It seemed to be of no use to try. It would wander 
away from the subject on hand to the rich, tropical forests, and 
to gay dancers, feasts, and games of my people, I could 
memorize nothing, and Mrs. Roberts told me afterwards that 
she thought at the time that my case was well-nigh hopeless. 

Arma was a great source of comfort to me ; for when all the 
others on the mission had lost interest in me, he stuck to me 
nobly, and gave me many an idea, and much help on some of 
the lessons that seemed, ah ! so difficult to me. I was taught, 
as I believe young children are taught in this country, by means 
of objects. Mrs. Roberts would draw the picture of a cat, and 
then pronounce the name over and over again until we had finally 
become familiar with the sound of the three letters. Then she 
would write it on the board, and we would learn to spell and 
pronounce it. 

For the others in the class it would be no great task ; but 
alas ! unfortunate Besolow. I would stand in front of the board 



114 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

all day long, gaze at the picture, spell over the letters to my- 
self dozens and dozens of times, with no result whatever save 
the result of appearing duller than ever in comparison with the 
others. They came at last to think it not so much a lack of 
mental power as it was stubborness and taciturnity on my part ; 
and they began to punish me, and hold me up to ridicule in 
every way. It was not stubborness, and it was a cruel way to 
take, hoping to have better things of me. I was not allowed 
to go to the table when the rest did ; but ate after they did, and 
ate what they left. I was locked into my room every Saturday, 
and was not allowed to hunt and frolic with the others ; and the 
whippings I got may not be numbered. It is not to be won- 
dered at much that under such harsh treatment I did not 
improve, but seemed to grow more backward every day. 

Mrs. Roberts would call Arma and myself to her side, and 
would utter simple phrases to us in English, and ask us for the 
interpretation in African. I would never get it correct ; but 
Arma would in nine cases out of ten, for which quickness he 
would be allowed a half-holiday ; while I would remain behind, 
and kept standing in a corner, on one leg, for many hours. 
That was a favorite mode that Mrs. Roberts had in which to 
punish me. 

Instinctively feeling that I was disliked, I became very 
melancholy ; and I believe if it had not been for Arma, I 
should have made away with myself. He would talk to me, 
and help me, and advise me, and I learned to love him fondly. 
Under his tuition, given at spare moments, I began to pick up 
a little ; and suddenly the mists seemed to clear away from my 
brain, and the little things that had once appeared so difficult 
now seemed simple and easy enough. 

After this it was quite wonderful, when compared to my 
former bluntness, how quickly and readily I mastered the little 
lessons which I had from day to day. 

In the second year I could study as well as Arma himself, 
and before the year had advanced very far, I had equaled 
him in many things. I could interpret the little phrases now 
that Mrs. Roberts said over to us, with a proficiency that 
delighted me as nothing else ever did ; for what thing can give 
us more pleasure than to feel that a heretofore unknown tongue 
is becoming our own. All her interest came back to Mrs. 
Roberts as I improved. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 



115 



I began to read in little primers words of one syllable, most 
of them being Biblical stories, in which I was very much inter- 
ested. In an indirect way she began to tell me a Httle about 
Jesus Christ, our Saviour ; but the idea of his being a man and 
king, implanted in my mind by Curtis, could not be displaced 
easily. I had many religious pictures to look at, and thought 
them pictures of places and people in America. It was not 
then that the ideas Mrs. Roberts meant to convey to my mind 
took root. 

In the third year I could read very well indeed, and in 
addition began the study of penmanship. The Bible stories 
began to awaken much interest in my heart. Mrs. Roberts 
worked with me very earnestly. I had acquired a great 
fondness for study, and learned my catechism without much 
trouble. 

She found it a very difficult thing to convince me that our 
god worship was a wicked thing. I told her to hush, or she 
might bring some horrible plague upon the mission ; and always, 
after she had talked in this manner, I would creep away by 
myself, and in some isolated place would offer to the gods 
some thing, and beg of them to forgive Mrs. Roberts, who 
was a white person, and did not know what she was saying. 

My father came to see me once. He appeared much older, 
and said he was having a hard time, being obliged to fight off 
tribe after tribe who were attempting to settle on his territory. 
At his words I felt all my old-time longing for a warrior's life 
flare back into my heart, that of late had been filled with the 
fresh delight of study. But he said no ; I would please him best 
by staying quietly at the mission and becoming a good scholar. 

He told me that my brother, who had gone to England, had 
returned to Bendoo a bright man, but a confirmed drunkard ; 
and a month or so after I heard of his death, caused from the 
effects of too much rum. 

''Don't you disappoint me, Besolow," were father's last 
words, as I bade him good-bye fpr the last time. 



Il6 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER XII. 



WEARY WANDERING. 



"Return we could not, nor continue where we were; to shift our 
place was to exchange one misery with another." — Stanley, ^'- In 
Darkest Africa" 

" There is purpose in pain ; 
Otherwise it were devilish. I trust in my soul 
That the great Master Hand which sweeps over the whole 
Of this deep harp of life, if at moments it stretch 
To shrill tension some one wailing nerve, means to fetch 
Its response, the truest, most stringent, and smart, 
Its pathos the purest from out the wrung heart, 
Whose faculties, flaccid it may be, if less 
Sharply strung, sharply smitten, had failed to express 
Just the one note the great final harmony needs." 

— Oiven Meredith. 

" My spirit cries, • Thy will be done ! ' 
And finds the victory won." — Theodore Tilton. 

THE LIGHT IS FOUND. 

I BEGAN to feel a great interest in the Bible stories, and 
liked to listen to them when told by Mrs. Roberts or some of 
the teachers ; but when they told me that Jesus Christ was not 
a living, human, earthly king, but the blessed Son of the Lord 
God, I got completely beyond my depth in reasoning upon 
their words. I thought it complete foolishness. I thought God 
could not have a son, and yet both be one in the same person ; 
and it was a wonder to me how these otherwise sensible people 
could believe any such nonsense. 

Here, again, Arma went ahead of me, and with surprising 
ease grasped and made his own what cost me a long, hard 
struggle to possess. It was surprising with what tenacity I 
clung to my old religious ideas, often offering sacrifices to the 
gods of my people, unbeknown to the missionaries. 

The kind teachers used to say, " Besolow, I have come 
from many, many miles away to try to help you get into the 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. II7 

light." " I can see very well," I would make answer ; *''my 
eyes are good, I can see as well as you can." 

One day when my teacher shook her head, I illustrated the 
point to her, and endeavored to show her that I spoke truth- 
fully. I put a tiny bead on the table before which she was 
working. "Can you see that?" I inquired. "Why, yes," she 
replied. " So can I ; I see it also," I made answer. " So you 
see ray eyes are quite strong and well." " Light " had no 
other significance to me for some time. 

They had little if any difficulty in teaching me of God. I 
could easily conceive of a Supreme Being, and gradually I 
began to feel that my people's mode of worshiping was need- 
less, if not wicked. 

All this was very gradually accomplished, however, but I 
thought them not in their right minds when they spoke of 
Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God being distinct powers, but 
united so that they were one. 

They let me alone for a short time, and did not try to teach 
me of the Trinity till I became more conversant with the lan- 
guage. Here, again, was Arma my friend. He often talked to 
me of Christ, and as long as he spoke of the earthly man I 
would listen with much eagerness ; but as soon as he spoke of 
him as God, I lost interest and became incredulous ; but Arma 
persisted, till at length I had a little more faith that what he 
and the missionaries were telling me of Christ might be true. 
My faith was, however, very weak and vacillating, and worth 
but very little to me or to anybody else. 

It was no wonder if the missionaries grew impatient, at 
times. It must have been very discouraging not to see any 
good fruit springing from their hard efforts to convert me, and 
from the seed they had worked to plant in my savage breast. 

At last Mrs. Roberts said to me, one day : " Besolow, you 
are wicked. After all I and the others in the mission have told 
you of His sweet and loving kindness to man. His noble gen- 
erosity in dying to save us, how can you still refuse to believe 
in our dear Lord, Jesus Christ? There is Arma, your close 
friend ; see what a good Christian boy he has become. You are 
wicked, Besolow." 

Her words troubled and pained me a good deal. I was 
not a liar, deceiver, nor traitor, nor scandalmonger, and being 
free from these faults, why, I had a perfect right to consider 
myself a righteous man, which I was not slow in doing. 



Il8 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

I came to the conclusion, after a great many dreary months 
had passed, that Christ must be an American God, and a very 
powerful one as well, because so many intelligent people could 
beheve in him and revere him as they did. But why did they 
not offer sacrifices to him, as we did ? Not human offerings, 
for they considered those wicked, but sacrifices of the lower 
animals. This God, if he were a powerful one, ought to be 
pleased. With redoubled vigor I then studied the catechism, 
feeling that by so doing I was pleasing the Unknown One. I 
studied this catechism and the Bible for hours and hours at a 
time. My teachers were much encouraged, and I said no word 
to them of my new conception of Christ. 

The fact that I was pleasing the American God by studying 
my lessons well, was a constant impetus to me, and I began to 
do wonderfully well in my classes. 

I entered into all my work with a zest that delighted my in- 
structors ; but all their conversation concerning the plan of sal- 
vation made no impression on me whatever. As you Ameri- 
can people would say, " It went into one ear and came out 
the other." 

My two dearest prides in life were the suit of civilized 
clothing which I wore, and wouldn't have parted with for any- 
thing else in the world, and my abihty for learning the language 
that I was rapidly beginning to adore. 

How discouraged my good friend, Mrs. Roberts, was when 
she learned at last of my idea of Christ ! I can see her big, 
dark eyes now, as they were that morning, surcharged with the 
disappointed tears. '' Ah, Besolow," she said, " I expected 
such fine things of you. I thought you would be a pioneer on 
the side of our Saviour, and go among your people teaching 
them of Him. He is not the dear Lord of America alone. 
He is the sweet Friend of all people, everywhere ; as much the 
Father of your people as he is of mine. O Besolow, for my 
sake won't you try to beheve? Indeed, indeed, I'm telling you 
true. Did I not come from far across the waters just to tell 
you of the good tidings? Pray, pray constantly, Besolow. 
Ask Him to help your unbehef. Will you do this for my sake ?" 
And I answered in the affirmative. 

Much, and seriously, and often did this kind lady talk to me. 
She seemed inspired ; and, indeed, I think she was. Arma, also, 
talked to me a great deal in his own peculiar way ; and, thank 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. II9 

God, the time came when the old, barbarous, uncivilized 
thoughts and ideas became supplanted by serious, deep ones, 
such as I had never had in my whole life before. 

Were the words of these people true ? Were they indeed ? 
Was Jesus Christ the Son of God, yet equal to His Father? 
Had he really died for me — to save me from sin — he, the Son 
of God — for me — a poor African savage? Did he love and 
watch over me — and could belief in his power to save prevent 
me from suffering eternal tortures in Cayanpimbi, and permit 
me to enjoy forever the peace and rest of Igenie ? Words, as I 
have explained to you, my dear reader, synonymous with Hell 
and Heaven. 

These questions haunted me night and day. I could not 
get them out of my mind for a moment of time. I spoke to 
few, heard but few remarks that others made, lost my appetite, 
neglected my books, as I went about with downcast eyes, pon- 
dering over the mighty questions. A camp meeting was held 
in a distant part of the mission by missionaries who intended 
going farther into the interior, and Mrs. Roberts persuaded me 
to go with her. Never shall I forget that time. I sat with the 
kind lady, my hand clasped warmly in hers, my eyes bent per- 
sistently on the ground, as if. I would read the answer to my 
questions in the tiny brown grassblades. 

I was very much impressed by the spirited singing and the 
earnest prayers they offered up, and for me, as Mrs. Roberts 
asked them to do. I could not but notice, uninitiated as I was, 
the beautiful rest and peace that seemed to fill the breasts of 
these Christian people. The meeting lasted for many days, and 
we remained there during all that time. Ah, how weary and 
heavy-laden I was ! I was more miserable than I care to re- 
member. My heart was bursting with a longing for something, 
I knew not what. 

"Besolow," said Mrs. Roberts, "do you want to believe on 
Jesus Christ, your Lord and Saviour? " 

"Yes, yes," I answered eagerly, as joyous hymn after joyous 
hymn stirred the forest to its depth ; " yes, Mrs. Roberts, but I 
cannot." 

" Pray, my dear brother," she answered. " Kneel down and 
pray to God these words : '■ I wish to believe on Christ ; help 
my unbelief.' " Dear Mrs. Roberts ! God bless her ! She was 
a tender friend to me at that period of my life, I do not know 



I20 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

how I should have gotten along without her. She was loving 
and sympathetic as a mother. 

She understood my case far better than I did myself. She 
knew that often before the glorious presence and light of Jesus 
Christ visited the human soul, it very often seemed lost in a 
chaos of darkness and despair ; and she told me of this. For 
hours and hours I would kneel with bowed head and repeat 
these words, " Dear Jesus, help my unbelief " — say them over 
and over again, till my tired lips refused to utter them ; then I 
would say them mentally, till the tissues of my brain would re- 
fuse to act, and oftentimes I fainted from sheer exhaustion, — 
" Dear Jesus, help my unbelief." 

"Is it brighter, Besolow?" Mrs. Roberts asked often. 

" No, no," I would cry out in despair ; " the darkness is 
blacker than ever." 

" Poor boy ! poor Besolow ! Have patience, and all will yet 
be well." 

She would pray with me : " O dear Father who art in 
heaven, cast down thy all-pitying, all-loving eye upon this kneel- 
ing boy, who does desire so fervently, beloved Jesus, to become 
one of your own sanctified ones. Have pity upon him, and let the 
beautiful radiance of thy dear presence chase away the gloom 
that surrounds his soul." While she prayed I said over my one 
little prayer, " Help my unbelief ! " till it seemed branded in 
words of fire on my brain. I cannot help but wonder if many 
people suffer as I did before they find their precious Saviour. 

One day, feeHng a strong desire for solitude, I crept away 
by myself to the woods, here to pray and to weep, and to call 
upon the unknown God to help me in the sorrow of which my 
undisciplined brain could not define the cause. As I knelt in 
supplication, a large yellow snake crawled over my legs, and 
disappeared in some thick foliage at my right. I cowered 
down in affright ; for I, poor, ignorant, superstitious boy, took 
it for a sign that this God, Christ, to whom I was praying, was 
displeased with me. I returned to the camp meeting more 
wretched than ever. 

I would not partake of any food, thinking that if I main- 
tained a rigid fast, Christ would reveal himself to me. As day 
followed day, many of the missionaries would come and kneel 
beside me, and ask me if there was any change in my mind or 
heart. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 121 

" No, no, no," I would tell them, lifting my hollow eyes 
to their faces pleadingly ; " and I do not believe there ever will 
be." 

They comforted me and prayed with me, with slight, if any 
satisfactory result ; and I went on with my little prayer, " Help 
my unbelief." Some days, fainting for the want of food and 
drink, my feet would refuse to support my body, and I would 
fall weakly to the ground. I was in despair, for in spite of my 
fasting and praying, I was apparently as far from the blessed 
state described by the missionaries as ever. 

At the expiration of almost every minute I would look at 
my hands, my fingers, my body, to see if any radical change 
were taking place ; for, poor, illiterate fellow as I was, I believed 
that a "change" meant a physical transformation of some 
kind. 

May those who read this little book never know what it 
means to suffer as I did in the month that followed. Only for 
the thoughtfulness and kindness of Mrs. Roberts and the others, 
I do not beUeve I could have lived. 

Yes, it was for one long, awful month that in this fashion I 
struggled to find Christ. And one day — ah, beautiful day ! the 
fairest in my life — I was kneeling, as usual, my kind friend by 
my side. With all my soul in the words, I said after her : " I 
yield, I give myself wholly, to Thee. Take me, O Jesus, ah 
crime-stained as I am, and make Thy Spirit felt within me. I 
love Thee ; I trust Thee ; help Thou my unbelief." 

My Christian friends will understand what followed ; will 
understand the indescribable joy that filled my soul at that 
moment ! Oh ! the effulgent, glorious light that seemed to 
fill my heart and mind ! The great, lovely uplifting of soul ; 
the completeness of a longed-for, indefinable joy that seemed to 
meet my every want ; the delight of " the peace that passeth all 
understanding" ; the exquisite sensation of a nearness to my 
Saviour ! It was all like a joy that kills from its very intensity. 
It proved too much for my weak, frail body, and with the 
happy tears pouring from my eyes, I fell prone upon my face, 
unconscious. When I came to myself I was lying on a knoll 
of thick, sweet-smelling grass, under the shade of a tree ; the 
missionaries were singing in the distance, and Mrs. Roberts 
was sitting beside me. 

"Is it well with thee, my brother?" she asked, tenderly. 



122 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

Well ! Ah, I had no words in my slight vocabulary to 
describe the peace that had fallen on my life ! Now I could 
partake of food with a relish, and pray and sing with the others 
with a renewed life and ardor ; for all the old misery of doubt 
and gloom had been lifted from my heart, and I felt free and 
happy as the birds of the air. When I returned to the mission 
I worked very hard over the Bible ; especially dear to me was 
Isaiah, in the Old Testament, and John iii. i6 in the New. I 
learned to love the books that told so much of Him, the 
blessed One. 

Mrs. Roberts had no difficulty now in arousing my interest 
in the precious Word, and very soon I became the best Bible 
student on the mission. She talked to me a good deal about my 
future. We were sitting on the piazza together ; she was sewing 
and I was at her feet, with an open book on my lap, from 
which I was studying at the odd moments when we were not 
conversing. "Besolow," she said, "very soon now you will go 
back to your people. Do you think that when you are with 
them once again, you will forget your Lord, and fall back into 
your old ways of worshiping idols ? " I looked up at her with 
out a word, and she must have read in my eyes the rebuke I 
did not speak, for she reached over towards me and laid 
her hand ever so gently on my head. 

"Forgive me, brother," she said, "if I have caused you 
pain j but I couldn't help but wonder if you would always be 
true. It will be very hard to keep your faith, may be, when 
you are away from here. You might possibly, among your 
own people, be ashamed or afraid to stand up for Jesus. But 
remember He was not ashamed nor afraid to die for you." 

"You need have no fear, dear Mrs. Roberts," I made an- 
swer. " I will never refuse to acknowledge what a friend I 
have found in Christ. Indeed, of late, one thought has taken 
possession of me and haunts me all the time, and that is, the 
necessity of my people — the Vey people — knowing of Him 
whose blood can take away the sins of the world ! Once I 
used to think I would like to be a great warrior and hunter ; but 
now I would rather be His disciple than anything else in the 
world." 

"Good ! I am overjoyed to hear you talk so ; all my trouble 
is repaid many times over ; and do not forget these words you 
have said to me, Besolow, when you go back among your people. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 23 

it is yours to do great good for your people, remember. Be 
true to your comdctions." 

"It is yours to do great good for your people." I have 
never forgotten those words, and never shall, for I intend to live 
up to them as long as I live. 

Arma's father withdrew him from the mission. I was very 
sad at his departure. We had a long talk before he went away, 
and he strongly advised me to go into mission work, and de- 
clared that he was going to work in that field. Dear Arma ! I 
have never seen him since, but I know that if he is alive, Africa 
is the better for his living in it. He was a remarkably bright, 
enthusiastic. Christian young man. Mrs. Roberts felt sorry to 
lose him, for by precept and example he had been a great help 
in training the young, raw savages who came and went to the 
mission. 

I fell into his place when he left, and filled it to the satisfac- 
tion of those about me. As I stood over some lonely African 
boy, and pointed out to him the different letters on a paste- 
board alphabet card, my mind would travel back to the time 
when I myself had so much difficulty with the thing. 
Perhaps, remembering it, I had more patience with the back- 
ward boys than ever Mrs. Roberts had with me, or would have 
had with them. Be that as it may, they got along nicely under 
my tuition, and Mrs. Roberts was fond of praising me for their 
progress. I must confess I did enjoy her praises as much as I 
was hurt at her censure, which was seldom given at that time. 

Among all the boys, I think I was her favorite ; I think 
she cared most for me. "Do you remember, Mrs. Rob- 
erts," I asked her one day, "how much you used to dislike 
me?" The color crept into her cheeks. " No, Besolow," she 
answered, "I never disliked you, but you were a hard case to 
manage. Who would have thought you would have grown to 
be such a fine young man? " 

"I was stupid," I admitted, "and willful, and wild. There 
is no need of tying me here now. I have no desire to leave the 
mission. It seems to me like a home." 

"I am glad to hear you say so," she said, with her kindly 
smile. 

I was somewhat distressed in mind just then by the news 
brought me by the messengers. A war was being threatened 
between my father and a very powerful king of a neighboring 



124 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

tribe ; cause, the same old one, — disputed territory. I hoped 
father would not enter into the engagement, for I had a fore- 
boding that if he did he would lose his hfe. I knew the tribe 
with which he anticipated a battle to be an exceedingly strong 
and powerful one, and father had lost a great many men in 
recent skirmishes, and was not properly equipped for war just at 
that time. 

Then, besides this fact, the messengers whom he sent told 
me that he was not very well, and of late had been much undei 
the care of the medicine-men. He had been suffering, too. 
along with all the rest, from the petty meanness of my uncle, 
his brother, a king over a large number of people situate^ 
northwest of Vey territory. This brother had always disliked 
father, and in many little disagreeable ways had tormented and 
irritated him. 

Word came to father at this time that when he went to wai 
uncle intended coming to Bendoo, and taking possession of it. 
Father did not put much credit in this rumor, it appears ; but 
I did, and it worried me greatly. I knew uncle to be an 
unprincipled, as well as a cruel man, who, to serve his own 
ends, would stop at nothing. I became very much disturbed 
in my mind, and waited eagerly, week after week, for news from 
my home. My first temptation came in a message brought me 
by the men. Father would like to h^ve me come back and 
enter into the engagement. He did not command me ; I 
should come or not, as I saw fit, but he needed me, and wished 
that I would. Ah ! then for a time I forgot all my conversa- 
tions with, and promises to, Mrs. Roberts. At the thought of 
another active engagement, wdth all its attending excitement 
and dangers, my blood thrilled through my veins, and mounted 
hotly into my face. 

All the old dreams of becoming a famous soldier came 
back into my heart, and I did not read the "Good Book" as 
zealously as I had before. I wanted to go back and fight, but 
I felt ashamed, after my firm promises, to broach the subject to 
Mrs. Roberts. I thought of it a great deal, and finally the dear 
lady noticed that something was troubling me, and she ques- 
tioned me as to what the matter was. I stood before her in 
silence for a few minutes, and if I had been a white man she 
would have seen me, what you call, blushing. 

"Are you worrying about your father, Besolow ? " she queried. 

" Yes, Mrs. Roberts." 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 25 

"Are you alarmed lest he be beaten in this engagement?" 

"Yes, Mrs. Roberts." 

" Do you think you would like to go back and fight with 
him?" 

I hung my head as I stammered, " Yes, Mrs. Roberts." 

She was silent for a little time ; then she spoke of the 
promises I had made about devoting myself to the cause of 
Christ for the rest of my life, and how I could not do this in 
the best, most complete way and be a warrior. " This is your 
first temptation to give up that idea of yours that made me so 
very happy. Overcome this, and the next one will not be so 
difficult to master. Remember, too," she said again, "that the 
bravest, truest soldier on the face of the earth is the Christian 
soldier. Besolow, as I have told you once before, I have made 
great sacrifices for Christ's cause. I left the blessed shores of 
America twenty long years ago ; left mother, father, sister, and 
brother to come to your dark land, and teach your people of 
the redemption from sin through Christ. Why, I know not, but 
my efforts have been crowned with poor success. You are the 
only one whom I have succeeded in converting through my 
own instrumentaHty ; and now, as I am growing old and feeble, 
it would break my heart if you did not come up to my expec- 
tations. I have great hopes of you. I am going to see what 
can be done about sending you to America, to obtain a liberal 
education ; and, Besolow, I want you to promise a weak-minded 
woman, who has your interest much at heart, that you will 
preach the gospel to your people after obtaining a thorough 
education ; that you, an African yourself, will give your fife to 
the African cause." 

She put out her hand, and I took it in mine, humbly. How 
much this little, weak woman had done for me and mine ! She 
had labored far away from home and friends, and familiar 
modes of living, for twenty long years. I was much impressed 
with her nobility of mind and heart, and promised her for the 
second time, on my word of honor, to do as she wished me to 
do ; and, thank God, I have never forgotten that promise, 
and it is towards its best fulfillment that I am tending day by 
day — working, studying, and planning for it — keeping it fresh 
before my eyes as if it were given yesterday. 

So when father's messengers came back, I told them I 
wished him success, but I did not care to take any part in the 



126 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

battle myself. I thought they looked somewhat disappointed ; 
and now I waited in a fever of suspense to hear the result. 

It was as I feared ; after a long, hard battle, my father's 
forces, greatly lessened, were defeated, and father himself seri- 
ously wounded. At the news I felt my old savage nature rise 
into arms again, and cry out for vengeance on the tribe that 
had maimed my father. It was only by constant and contmual 
prayer that I was pacified, and my fiery nature calmed. 

Father felt that his death was near, and expressed a de- 
sire to see me. Mrs. Roberts readily granted me permission, 
and I set out for Bendoo. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA* 12 7 



CHAPTER XIII. 

" Thou who comest from on high, 

Who all woes and sorrows stillest, 
Who for twofold misery, 

Hearts with twofold balsam fiUest, 
Would this constant strife would cease ! 

What are pain and rapture now? 
Blissful peace, 

To my bosom hasten thou ! " — Goethe. 

THE LAND OF THE FREE. 

"The land which freemen till, 

Which sober-suited freedom chose; 
A land where, girt with friends or foes, 
A man may speak the thing he will." — Tentiyson. 

WEARY WANDERING. 

Upon my arrival in Bendoo I was greeted with music, and 
dancing, and bonfires ; but on a very quiet scale compared to 
the usual clamor and hullabaloo employed in ceremonies of 
welcome. My boy friends were glad to see me, and crowded 
around me, asking question after question concerning the white 
people and the mission I had left. I gave them a few ideas as 
briefly as I could. My appearance had filled the young fellows 
with the greatest consternation and wonder, for I wore the full 
outfit of civilized men ; they circled about me as if I had been 
some curious animal, and asked me the use of this article of 
clothing and the need of that, till they very nearly drove me 
distracted. My appearance seemed to strike some of them in 
a ridiculous light, and they rolled over and over on the ground 
in paroxysms of laughter. One begged to put on my coat ; 
another tried on my hat, and went capering about with it on 
his head ; and others were kneeling at my feet, closely examin- 
ing my boots. To say the least this was very disagreeable ; but 
I knew that it would not be pohcy to resent it, as I felt like 
doing. Finally I got them quieted and subdued by showing 
them my watch, which was a Waterbury, the first they had ever 
seen. They crowded eagerly about me, asking me more 
questions about it than I could answer. It passed from hand 



128 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

to hand, and they all examined it and commented upon it with 
the dehght and interest of httle children. 

" Now talk some English to us, Besolow," they said. "Talk 
to us in English." "Good-morning," I said blandly. This 
had the effect of sending the humorous ones off into another 
fit of laughter ; and then I went on saying in Enghsh all the 
little phrases of which I could think. They made me interpret 
all that I could for them. " It is hard, and not beautiful like our 
own language," said one of them. "I do not like it; I never 
want to learn the English." I grew tired, at length, of posing 
before them as somewhat of a curiosity, and gaining possession 
of my various articles of clothing which they had been examin- 
ing, I went to my mother's hut. She was seated just inside 
the door, embroidering a long, crimson silk robe, meant, I sup- 
pose, for one of the priests. At first she did not know me, 
but stared in wonderment at me, marvehng at the oddity of 
my apparel. Then with a sudden, dehghted cry she threw 
aside her work and sprang into my arms. 

"Besolow," she exclaimed, joyfully, "my son! I see you 
once again ! " We spent a very happy hour together. In that 
hour I spoke to her of my life at the mission, and also of 
Jesus Christ. Poor mother ! She was much bewildered ; but 
when she finally realized that I was speaking to her of a God 
of whom she knew nothing, she glanced fearfully about the 
room, and then went and kindled a little fire before the shrine 
of the household god. "Oh, my son," she said, "what have 
these people done ! Changed your ideas in regard to our gods ? 
Do not, as you value your life, let this be known to the medi- 
cine-men. Oh, woe ! woe ! woe ! " She began to rock her- 
self backwards and forwards in a passion of grief and regret, 
that seemed altogether pitiful to me ; for how could I ever hope 
to eradicate the faith of a lifetime, and teach this poor, dark 
soul of Him whose name is synonymous with "Light?" I 
comforted her as best I could, and changed the subject by 
asking after father. • This only had the effect of causing the 
tears to flow the faster. "He will die," she said ; " he is suffer- 
ing much pain. Woe to our people ! Woe to Vey on the 
day he dies ! " 

" Hush, mother," I said ; " how gloomily you talk. My elder 
brother, Solobey, is a brave, strong, bright man, and he will take 
father's place, and govern as wisely and well as he did." 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. I29 

" Nay, nay, Besolow ; it will not be so. I consulted the gods 
last night, and they said to me : ' Woe ! Devastation and 
bloodshed ! Devastation, bloodshed, and woe ! woe ! woe ! to 
the people of Vey.' " 

In spite of myself I felt a feehng of superstition take 
possession of me as mother's weird voice and piteous words 
rang through the little room. That evening I went to see 
father. He was dying, — even my unpracticed eye could see 
that much, — and he was suffering violent pain. 

To us death-throes have a material and strange significance. 
The dying man is on one bank of a dark and gloomy river, and 
is struggling to reach the opposite bank, whereon all is bright, 
and happy, and peaceful. His spirit has a hard struggle to get 
to Igenie. Every long breath and restless movement of the 
body served to show the onlookers just what a struggle it is 
having. The body it is that -is holding back the spirit. They 
say my father's death agonies were pitiful to behold ; and at last 
the medicine-man declared that he would free the spirit from the 
encumbering body, and he, as is the custom of my people, 
advanced to the side of the couch and cut my father's throat. 
The body was quiet, and they drew sighs of satisfaction as 
they spoke, in subdued tones, of the happy arrival of the 
struggling spirit to Igenie. It all seemed very horrible and 
barbarous to me ; but I made no remarks upon the custom 
then. 

After father was laid out in state, and his body anointed 
with oils and ointments, and arrayed in his finest habiUments, 
songs were chanted over him mournfully, and many of his wives 
came forward desiring to be buried alive with him. This is con- 
sidered to be the highest honor that can be conferred upon a 
woman, — burial with her husband, — especially if he be chief or 
an officer of some rank. In this instance one of the best- 
looking was selected. She was clad in a long tunic of white silk, 
which had been sent from Europe, and wore on her arms and 
neck gaudy jewelry. She looked as if she were decked out 
for a bride, instead of the cruel fate in store for her. " Lebe," 
they said, " pause and consider awhile before you give up your 
life in this manner." ''I am happy," she said ; and to all their 
remonstrances she made the self-same response, ''I am happy." 
Nothing could dissuade her from the foolish and horrible step 
she was about to take. When father was lowered into the grave, 



136 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

she was placed in after him. Over the grave was placed a boat- 
shaped wooden arrangement filled with sharp spikes. The 
longest and sharpest of these spikes were placed directly over 
the woman's head. 

A squadron of soldiers stood at the right ; at a given com- 
mand they fired as one man ; and as the report of their guns 
died away, this spiked wood was forced down, down, till one 
violent scream from the woman told the spikes had penetrated 
her brain. This wicked custom is a common one among my 
race, and a man is seldom buried that a woman does not sacri- 
fice herself in this way. Indeed, as I have said before, she 
deems it a great honor and glory to be allowed to do so. Im- 
mediately after father's burial, and very much against mother's 
will, I returned to the mission. Mrs. Roberts was very glad to 
see me. I told her that my eldest brother, Solobey, a fine boy, 
was to be king in father's, place,. and so it had been arranged. 
I told her I would strive with all my might to convert him to 
Christianity. My words had the effect of making the dear lady 
very happy. Alas for the frailty of man's plans ! — it was not 
more than two weeks after my return to the mission, that news 
came to me that my uncle had invaded father's territory with 
many hundreds of men, usurped the throne, and was governing 
the people with an iron will and merciless hand ; so much so, 
in fact, that they were completely cowed, and made no resist- 
ance. My mother's children were the rightful heirs to father's 
possessions, because she was the wife of highest birth. I had 
three elder brothers, all of whom bitterly resented uncle's 
course. 

Before I learned of his treachery he dispatched a messen- 
ger for me, with great offerings of love and friendship, and 
asking for my presence in Bendoo. Happily I learned of his 
plans in time. A messenger in whom he had confided, but who 
had some feelings left in his breast, told me that he intended to 
leave no stone unturned till he had put me to death, and then 
everything would be clear before him ; he would be rightful 
heir to all my father's estates, and no one could gainsay him. 
I was ver^ anxious to return to my native town to see what 
changes were taking place, and to use all my influence and 
power to dethrone this wicked man if I could. By night, 
stealthily disguised in a manner to baffle discovery, I reached 
Bendoo again. I walked about the dear old town, where so 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 



131 



many of my boyhood's happy days had been spent ; and saw, 
as I kept thinking, for the last time, the old friends, bowed, 
humbled, and crest-fallen. They knew me not. I crept to the 
neighborhood of my mother's hut. Alas ! it was occupied by 
a new tenant ; and the shrill voice of one of my uncle's wives 
reached my ears as I lingered. I dared not remain till day- 
break, lest he should discover and put me to death. Where 
should I go? There was no one now to pay for me at the 
mission, and I was too proud to go back there on the charity 
of the dear friends who were far from being rich, as I well 
knew ; so, sore-hearted and miserable, I went out among the 
towns on the outskirts of the Vey provinces. Ah, my friends, 
for some pages, now, must I dwell upon a Hfe whose miseries 
are not experienced by many, I hope. I would not like to 
think that many of my fellow-men are suffering as I suffered 
for the several ensuing months. 

I dared not confess my identity to any one, for, parsimonious 
and grasping as I knew them to be, I felt certain that they 
would be only too glad to betray me to my uncle for a small 
quantity of gold-dust, to say nothing of getting installed into 
his good graces by the action. I had a new experience then : 
for the first time in my life, but not for the last, I was penniless 
and friendless. I slept in the woods, and killed all the small 
game I could with a large stick, for I had no spear or cutting 
implement of any kind. 

I dared not remain long in one place, lest the people might 
suspect and acquaint my uncle of my whereabouts ; and I got 
into a part of the territory — the most remote part — where the 
forests were few, and the game correspondingly limited. What 
was I to do? I stole an axe as I went through one of the 
towns. With this axe I cut wood, and carrying it on my head 
for two and three miles at a time, exchanged it for the food 
necessary to sustain my body. At times, when a man or a 
town was distinguished for thrift, they would not buy my wood, 
preferring to cut their own, and then I would often go hungry, 
having nothing upon which to subsist, save berries and wild 
fruits ; the orange and banana did not grow luxuriantly in those 
districts. I carried wood in this manner till the top of my head 
became soft and sensitive to touch as that of a newly-born 
babe. For a long time I struggled on God's beautiful earth 
for a mere existence. Many an African native sharper than 



132 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

his companions, when I approached his door with my wood, 
would recognize a resemblance between me and his deceased 
king ; and knowing, perhaps, of the disappearance of the only 
son from Liberia, would say to me, curiously: "Are you not 
from Bendoo? Are you not the son of Carttom? I hear 
that one of his sons is wandering about the country in disguise, 
in fear of his uncle, who, if he catch him, will put him to 
death. Are you the man? Tell me, and I will help you." I 
would deny having ever seen Bendoo, or that I was any rela- 
tion to the deceased king, — with some pangs from my con- 
science, it is true, — but I knew these people to be untrustworthy ; 
I had no faith in their fair promises, and would leave the town 
as soon as possible, lest they should dispatch a messenger to 
uncle that I was there. As I journeyed on from place to place 
in this manner, I heard of Taradobah. She had taken posses- 
sion of a southern province, and had quite a retinue of soldiers 
in her train. She was the queen of the province, and as cool- 
headed, determined, and as much of a warrior as any man (be 
he ever so strong and vaHant) could have been. 

She and my uncle hated each other most bitterly. My 
uncle was a Xerxes-like man. He was tall, finely built, and 
good to look upon, but weak-minded and crafty. He bought 
a great quantity of wines and liquors, and gave feast after feast, 
spending his time in this manner instead of minding the affairs 
of the territory. Under my father's government the sub-tribes 
were docile and obedient enough ; but under uncle's control 
they revolted, and withdrew from under his rule, and he lacked 
the strength and force of character to subdue them, until now 
the territory he governs isn't much larger than the State of 
Rhode Island. As I said before, Taradobah despised my uncle 
most heartily. 

She had tried, upon his entrance into Bendoo, to raise an 
insurrection among the people : but he had nipped her plans in 
the bud, just before they were ready for consummation. Fol- 
lowed by five or six hundred of the warriors in and about Ben- 
doo, she had taken possession of this province ; it was, too, one 
of the best and richest of all the lands that had been owned by 
my father, and, naturally enough, uncle wished to possess it. He 
had sharply commanded her to vacate it ; she sent him back 
words of hatred and defiance by the messenger whom he had 
sent. She had strengthened her forces, and the fortifications 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 33 

surrounding the town, and calmly awaited developments. He 
waged war against this plucky woman in three successive 
battles, and in each one was ignominiously and disgracefully 
defeated. She was general over her troops, and herself led 
them out to the battle, fighting herself with the tenacity and 
strength of a giantess, and she holds the province to this day. 
Not only does she still hold this land, but since then she has 
subdued and conquered many of the surrounding petty chiefs. 
Apropos — she has a son who is now studying at Central Ten- 
nessee College, Momoro. 

It may not be strange that in my time of need, destitution, 
and extremity, my thoughts went out to Taradobah, this re- 
markable women, who had ever been kind to me in the happy 
days now gone forever. I determined to make my way to her 
province, and ask her protection and help. As I made my way 
to her over mountains and through deep, tangled forests, I 
often thought of the words she said to me once when I first 
came home from the school. " Besolow," she had said, ''if ever 
the time comes when you need a friend, come to me and you 
will find one." 

Surely, I thought to myself, — as something very like a sob 
rose in my breast, and made itself heard over my lips, — surely, 
if ever I needed a friend I need one now. What if, under 
these new circumstances in which she was placed, Taradobah 
should refuse to favor me — refuse even to recognize me ? Ah, 
that would be too cruel ! That would be more than I could 
bear ! I asked Christ to put it into her heart to show me 
kindness, and he answered my prayer, for she treated me with 
the utmost consideration and respect. When I spoke to her 
of this, she took my hand. 

"Why should I not treat the future king of Vey lands with 
all the respect that is due him ? That is what you are, Besolow, 
a king ; the man who holds the place you ought to fill is a base, 
mean fellow, and we will oust him from it, and put you where 
you belong." 

She had just succeeded in defeating uncle for the third 
time, and was feeling considerably elated over it, being pretty 
sure of her powers to subdue and bend him to her will. 

Impulsively I answered her, "Yes." I was so tired, so 
weary, and so lonely, that I forgot Mrs. Roberts and my prom- 
ises to her, as I thought of the advantages of occupying the 



134 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

position described by Taradobah. Besides this, I reasoned to 
myself, as king over my people could I not gradually present 
the blessed faith of Christianity to them, and in time convert 
them all to the faith? Surely I was justified in trying to ac- 
complish such an end. 

"Your mother's brother, Mornbro, is a very powerful chief," 
she said, " and he will be willing to help you. He and I will 
unite forces, and will do all in our power to get your inheritance 
for you." 

I thanked her, and then gladly enough gave myself over to 
the pleasures she had prepared for me as an honored guest. 
She could not have shown any more politeness to father had 
he been alive, and come to visit her. First, she went through 
a ceremony of crowning me as king. She obliged me to cast 
aside my old clothing, and don the beautiful flowing coronation 
robes of scarlet cloth and a tiger-skin, in which I felt very fine 
and grand indeed. Followed by a long line of chiefs and 
warriors, I went to the hut of one of her first-rank medicine- 
men, whom I begged for favor. He came out of the hut and 
graciously consented to heed my request. He murmured some 
heathenish words over me. I dropped my head in shame and 
sorrow, for they were prayers to his gods and idols. Christ 
was regarding these proceedings. Would he be very much 
displeased ? Would I pain him very much ? After all I was 
working for his cause, and surely, surely the end justified the 
means ! " Forgive me," I whispered under my breath ; but 
my conscience was a stern mentor, and never, never slept for 
an instant of time. 

Next, Mr. Medicine-man sprinkled me with a powder, and 
smeared my face all over with greases and ointments of various 
kinds. Then tremendous volleys of shot were fired off by the 
soldiers who were stationed in fine order close by ; after which, 
with much solemnity, Taradobah formally declared me King 
of Vey. She assisted me to rise from my kneeling position ; 
and then the " reception " was tendered me. A lovely chair of 
solid ivory that had belonged to father, and of which Tarado- 
bah had taken possession when she left Bendoo, was set for me ; 
and into this I sank, while all the people of the district circled 
about me with their drums and clappers, and played and danced 
to show their respect for me. Frequently the musicians pros- 
trated themselves at my feet, and in the old manner I have de- 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 35 

scribed to you, endeavored to show their veneration for me, by 
beating up the dust in terrific clouds with their hands and feet. 

Men came to me beautifully dressed in gay, bright colors^ 
each bearing cases filled respectively with bottles of rum, wine, 
and whiskey. I knew I was expected to drink three times, 
partaking of some of each kind of liquor ; and I did so. If I 
did not, I should be committing a breach of etiquette that 
might never be forgiven me. After this was over, I was shown 
to a large hut, and left alone till the ''feast" was announced. 
This consisted of a whole roasted lamb. 

Etiquette was not observed to any great extent at the common 
board. We all carved for ourselves, and made not much ado 
about tearing off parts of the flesh with our hands. I thought 
of my white friends at the mission, and wondered what they 
would think of this mode of eating. 

Now came the last feature of the day's ceremonies. I was 
again placed in my ivory chair, and a poor, trembling prisoner 
was brought up before me. He had been taken from my 
uncle ; and Taradobah, who sat close beside me on a gay rug, 
seemed to take a cruel delight in anticipating the fate of the 
poor trembling wretch. 

"Taradobah," I said, ''will you do me a favor?" 

"Yes," she said, kindly. 

"Will you spare the life of this wretched man?" 

She frowned, and I saw that she did not like my request ; 
but she had promised to grant it, and she did so. I shall never 
forget the look of gratitude that the prisoner cast upon me as 
he was led away. " Your mother told me before she died that 
you had adopted many strange, wild notions while on that 
mission. If you have, Besolow, I advise you to do one of two 
things ; i. e., go back to the mission where such words will be 
appreciated, or stay here and think no more of them." 

Rapidly and eagerly I told her of Christ. It was not a 
wild, strange notion, I said ; it was the sweetest and best faith 
under the sun." 

" Paugh ! " she said, rising, " you will not be here five more 
days before you will laugh with me at this crazy idea of yours." 

I grew very serious. Would I indeed ever forget my 
Saviour? I thought of Mrs. Roberts then, and all her words 
of pleading, and all the rest of the day I could not get her 
from my thoughts. 



136 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER XIV. 

" Let music swell the breeze, 
And ring from all the trees, 

Sweet freedom's song; 
Let mortal tongues awake, 
Let all that breathe partake. 
Let rocks their silence break. 
The sound prolong." 

— America. 

MY STRUGGLE FOR AN EDUCATION. 

" Yet I argue not 
Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot 
Of heart or hope ; but still bear up and steer 
Right onward." 

— Milton. 

"the land OF THE FREE." 

Fort three days the matter was given to open discussion in 
the council, and the leading chiefs of Taradobah's tribe and 
my uncle's decided to go to war for me. I decided then — and 
it was the first time I had decided about it, and it cost me 
many a pang — I decided not to return to Liberia, but to join 
with my friends in striving to get back the kingdom, also to 
revenge the cowardly murder of my relatives. No sooner 
had I made this decision than my mind troubled me greatly. 
This was a base manner of keeping my word to the good 
people at the mission. I told myself this over and over again. 
What kind of a contemptible, lying fellow would they think me, 
who could break his pledged word thus lightly? 

As the war preparations went on busily, I often thought of 
them ; many, many times I grew sad and unhappy, and tried 
to ease my mind with the thought that I was going to battle for 
Jesus Christ ; for once in my possession, I would plant in the 
lands of Vey the banner of the Gospel. But these smooth 
ideas did not deceive my conscience in the slightest. I had 
worldly interests at heart above all else, and a living, growing 
desire for vengeance. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. I37 

Sometimes, as I pondered over these things, the thoughts of 
the coming war were very distasteful to me. Was I not going 
to pay evil for evil ? and was not that a direct offense against 
the teachings of Christ? It was about this time that the New 
York State Colonization Society passed a resolution to educate 
some of the young men in the provinces that were adjacent to 
Liberia. I had communicated my whereabouts to Mrs. 
Roberts, whom I knew would be worried over me, and she 
forwarded me a letter asking me to come back to her immedi- 
ately for a Kttle time, as she wished to talk with me on matters 
of importance. "Besolow," she wrote, '^ I am very feeble and 
ill, and may not live much longer. As a last favor I want you 
to come to me. Do not refuse the last request of, yours in 
Christ, — Roberts. ' ' 

I could not refuse this request of Mrs. Roberts, and informed 
Taradobah that I was going to the mission, but would return to 
her in the course of a few days. She was very much averse to 
my doing anything of the kind. 

"The preparations for war are about ripe," she said, ''and 
I need you ; you could not go away in a more critical time, 
Besolow." I told her of Mrs. Roberts' illness. *' She was one 
of the best friends I ever had, Taradobah, and now that she may 
be dying, and wants to see me, I must go to her." 

"Does she want you to cut her throat? Surely there are. 
plenty of her friends who will do that for her, and loosen the 
spirit from the body." She had reference to the horrid custom 
that takes place at dying people's bedsides, and which I have 
described in a preceding chapter. 

" No," I said ; " that is a custom which white people do 
not observe." 

I found Taradobah's eyes fixed upon me suspiciously. " You 
Hke these white people altogether too well, Besolow ; and some- 
times I have thought since you came back from them you 
haven't the proper respect for our gods and ceremonies." 

I made her no reply. "Tell me, is it so ? " she commanded. 
For the second time, in my rude, direct way, I spoke to her of 
Jesus Christ ; and for the second time she interrupted me with 
loud laughter, and warnings to keep my new ideas to myself, if 
I valued my life. " How," she said, " can you expect the gods 
to be propitious to you in this engagement if you show them so 
little respeci as to supplant them by a white man's god? The 



138 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

white man's god is all very well, Besolow ; but it is the black 
man's god who understands the black man's needs and wants„" 
I said nothing. The next morning I set out for the mission, 
promising Taradobah to come back inside of a few days. 

My wicked heart smote me when they led me to the bed- 
side of her who had done so much for my advancement. She 
was very slight, and white as the pillow upon] which her head 
lay weakly, and I could see that she was very, very sick. At 
sight of me she stretched out one frail hand, and the tears 
rolled over her cheeks. " Besolow," she said, " I am so 
glad you have returned." I knelt down beside her bed, and 
bowed my head humbly over the hand which I still held in my 
own. 

''Where have you been, Besolow, all these months?" she 
asked, gently. I told her briefly as I could, keeping back 
nothing. " Do you remember," she said, " of sitting beside 
me on the piazza one day many months ago, of the long con- 
versation we had of your future, and the promises which you 
made me? Those promises made me very happy, as I told 
you they did at the time. Are you going to break those prom- 
ises?" She turned her great, pure eyes upon me, full of pain, 
and her voice trembled with the intensity of her feelings. I 
spoke of going to war to forward Christ's cause, etc. "Ah, 
Besolow, do not deceive yourself; you are going to fight for 
human benefits, and nothing else. God does not want his cause 
advanced in any such cruel way as that ; it is these constant 
battles and wars that keep back your race and people from 
enjoying the fight and fullness of civilization. Besolow, for my 
sake give up this idea, and devote yourself to the cause of 
Christianity in its highest, most ideal sense. The New York 
State Colonization Society is wifiing to help a few of the young 
men, whom they purpose to educate in America ; after their 
education is completed, they will come back to their country to 
teach and preach. I have spoken to their agent of you, — oh, 
Besolow, if you will go ! " 

I knelt before her in perfect silence, and she did not break 
it for some time ; then she slipped a Testament -from under her 
pillow and placed it in my hand. "Read," she said, "read it 
to me." I opened, by chance, at the first chapter of John, 
and read what I found heavily marked : — 

" All things were made by Him j and without him was not 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. I39 

anything made that was made. In him was life ; and the life 
was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness ; and 
the darkness comprehended it not. . . . He came unto his 
own, and his own received him not. But as many as received 
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even 
to them that believe on his name." 

I read on till she told me I had read sufficient; then I 
returned the Testament, and rose. 

"There is a young Vey man here," she said ; " he has just 
returned from America, where he graduated from Lincoln 
University. I want you to see him and talk with him." 

She held out her hand to me again, and as I took it, smiled 
up at me encouragingly. I saw the young man of whom she 
spoke — a tall, straight young fellow, with bright eyes, and the 
light of intellect shining upon all his features. He spoke to 
me of the offer made me by the Colonization Society, and be- 
sought me with much earnestness to accept of it, saying that I 
might never have another such opportunity. He spoke of the 
good I might do my country, armed for life with a good educa- 
tion. "The future of Africa depends upon the exertions of her 
own sons — the exertions of her own people. They will do 
more to revolutionize things in our benighted land than fifty 
thousand outsiders could do," he said. " In a few years you 
will come back here, Besolow, with new ideas concerning civih- 
zation, an excellent and liberal education, the blessings of 
which you cannot conceive ; and so will be armed to help our 
people into the Divine light of the gospel as you could never 
do now. Think it over, my friend, carefully. Mrs. Roberts 
has spoken to me about the war in which you are to take part, 
and the cause of it. Your uncle is as likely to win as you are, 
and in that case you will be worse off than ever ; and as king 
of the Vey people, Besolow, you could not do them nearly so 
much good as would be possible if you were an educated, 
thoroughly civilized. Christian man." 

Carefully enough did I consider the two points of this 
question, — "To be, or not to be." Whether I should enter 
into hostihties against my uncle, and attempt to get back my 
rightful position on my own land, or go to America, a strange, 
unknown country over the seas, to be educated and civilized. 

Good arguments and advice as to the reasons why I should 
adopt the latter course were brought to bear upon the question 



140 FROM IHE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

by those who were interested in me ; but though I took into 
grave consideration all they told me, it was Mrs. Roberts who 
made me see what my duty was ; and it was she who won from 
me the promise that I would go to America. Her last words 
were, " Promise me, Besolow, that you will preach the gospel to 
your people." 

"Yes," I answered, while my voice was choked with tears; 
"I promise." 

I sent word to Taradobah as to what I intended doing. 
As might be expected, she was very angry, disappointed, and 
not a little disgusted. 

The agent of the Society did not find a great many of the 
young men who, when it came to the point, would leave their 
native shores. There were about six of us who remained un- 
changed, after having finally decided to go. The timid ones 
tried to throw a wet blanket over our plans. 

"You will die," some of them said, "before you ever reach 
the ' new land.' " 

"They are taking you away to kill you," were the comfort- 
ing words of some of the others. " You will never see your 
native land again. You had better bear with the dangers and 
trials of your own land, than ' fly to others which you know not 
of.' " 

But my mind was decided. I knew that never again could 
I forget my promise to Mrs. Roberts. I was now bent upon 
obtaining an education, let the cost be what it would ; and the 
words of the would-be enemies of the cause had no effect on 
me whatever. 

Shall I ever forget the bright, sunlit day upon which I said 
good-bye to my native land, when I sailed from Monrovia? I 
stood on the deck of the vessel and watched the fading shore 
till it was nothing but a blue, misty film, where the sky and 
ocean seemed to meet. Blinded with the sorrowful tears which 
I could not keep back. I sought my room, and prayed fer- 
vently for many hours. I kept my room for most of the way, 
for I became very seasick. The captain treated me most 
kindly, but day after day I would lie in my bunk and long for 
death. Was this illness a punishment vented upon me for 
leaving my native shores? I banished the thought that har- 
bored a suspicion of my old-time rehgion and superstition ; but, 
alas ! it was not mine to banish the pain quite so readily. As 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 14 I 

we neared our journey's end I began to feel considerably 
better, and was very much interested in the boat and the 
gear, spending most of my time on deck. 

Can you imagine the amazement of a poor, bewildered 
African boy, when the ship sailed into New York harbor, and 
he was called upon deck to take his first view of the " land of 
the free"? At sight of the moving panorama of ships, tugs, 
and steamboats, I completely lost my self-possession, and 
actually did not know whether I was standing on my feet or on 
my head. I trembled and shook to such a degree that they 
thought I was going to faint, and led me to a seat. Whenever 
I cast my eyes on the Brooklyn Bridge, with its immense stones 
and wonderful mechanism, I thought God must have made it 
when he created the world. The hands of men could never 
have executed anything so immense and wonderful. The ship 
remained in the harbor for perhaps twenty-four hours, and dur- 
ing all that time nothing except a cup of coffee passed my lips. 
I was altogether too excited to eat. I did nothing but gaze 
around in wonder, and ask questions. 

Everything was so new and strange, and all wonderful to me. 
The ship finally sailed into the dock. Here were in waiting 
several gentlemen. One of them, who had been sent from 
Lincoln University, took me and five of the other boys across 
to New Jersey on the ferry-boat, to where we were to board a 
train For Philadelphia. [In my first edition the number was 
printed twelve, when, as in this, it should have been five.] I was 
grown, but in all this time had never seen a railroad train, nor 
even conceived what it might be like. 

We entered a car in the station and took our seats, I sitting 
in the same seat with Mr. Webb, the gentleman who had us in 
charge. I thought it to be a station-house or waiting-room of 
some kind, similar to the one in which we had waited for the 
ferry-boat on the New York side. 

I asked Mr. Webb what we were going to travel in? 

"In a train," he made answer. "What is a train?" I 
asked. 

"You are in one now," he said with a smile. At that 
moment, it began slowly to pull out of the station. My limbs 
grew cold, and for an instant my heart ceased its beatings. 

"Did I not tell you," he said, still smiling, "that this is a 
train? Do not feel alarmed ; there is little if any danger. I 



142 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

have been over this road hundreds of times, and there has 
never yet been an accident." His words had no effect upon 
me. If he had escaped harm for so many times, then it was 
not to be expected that he should escape it for a longer period, 
and in all probability something terrible would happen to- 
night. I was terribly frightened. He tried to make me par- 
take of some luncheon he had bought, but my tongue was 
parched with fear, and I motioned all food away from me in 
much disgust. As the train dashed along the track at a really 
terrific rate of speed, I expected every moment to have my 
brains knocked out. At length I reached forward and held 
the seat in front of me, as people tell me that drowning men 
catch at a straw ; and I never once loosened niy hold. Every 
time the train lurched in one direction, I would throw the 
weight of my body in the other direction, striving to the best 
of my ability to keep the car balanced. 

Nothing that the gentleman could say or do could persuade 
me. 

When we finally reached our destination I was completely 
exhausted and worn out, both in mind and in body, and I am 
sure that it is not to be wondered at. 

We wcLe taken to the private home of a gentleman in Phila- 
delphia, — a beautiful home, the elegance and luxury of which 
filled us all with much surprise, and almost awe. How many 
times, in my clumsiness, I tripped over fancy-ribboned milking- 
stools, baskets, and hassocks. 

My table manners, also, must have sorely offended the sen- 
sitive, refined tastes of our host and hostess and his one beauti- 
ful daughter, though I tried to put into practice all the points 
of etiquette given to me by the missionaries while at the mis- 
sion. In the evening the gentleman's daughter played on the 
piano for us, and really, my old, wild, barbarous ideas took 
possession of my heart again as I saw the great ''piece of wood " 
send out such delicious sounds simply because a young woman 
moved her hands to and fro. It was some time before I could 
be persuaded to approach a piano after that ; not until I partly 
understood how the music was produced. 

There was one thing, if no other, which we boys did enjoy 
and think a fine thing, and that was our soft beds. They were 
as easy, if not easier, than our native hammocks, was our con- 
clusion, only I "think you would have laughed could you have 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. I43 

seen the manner in which some of them got into bed. We re- 
mained a day, at the end of which time we were taken to Lin- 
coln University, and once again I had the same fear and diffi- 
culty with the cars. 

We were assigned our rooms at the University. To say 
that I was homesick and lonely wouldn't be explaining the state 
of my feelings at all. We were the most miserable, wretched 
set of boys you ever saw. I was a curiosity to the other boys, 
who followed us about, laughed at my blunders, — which I dare 
say were many and comical enough, — and made remarks on 
our personal appearance in an off-hand way, and did not pause 
to consider our limited powers of understanding their tongue. 
I had thought that I was penned and shut up in the mission, 
but this life was so much more of a stived-up one that I won- 
dered often how I could ever have thought that my freedom 
was cut off at the mission. I could not study. I would sit for 
hours over a book and never see a line in it ; for my thoughts, 
oh ! they were far away, miles away, far over the blue ocean, in 
the groves of the lovely land I had left. The hot tears would 
trickle over my cheeks at the thought. 

There was no one here — no one who cared for me, whether 
I lived or whether I died ; whether I learned my lessons or 
whether I did not ; and the thought made me very sad. I 
missed Mrs. Roberts, who had been more than a mother to me, 
and Taradobah, who did really care for me almost as much as 
if I had been her own child. If there was only a friend such 
as they had been to me here in this land, I felt I could study 
harder, and apply myself more diligently. As it was, I could 
not, and did not ; neither did any of the others. Our one de- 
sire was to get together and talk over home and the friends we 
had left behind. All these boys could not understand my 
dialect, and we had to speak English to one another. 

Right here and now I want to correct a wrong conception 
of the copyist's, and one that has given me very much pain. 
It was a mistake in regard to the grand and good Lincoln 
University. My heart is with this old Institution, which I 
regard as the University of the American continent to solve 
the problem between the races. It is a University that has 
at its head a man of magnanimous heart, and a grand and 
loyal Christian. Indeed, I may say as much of the whole 
Faculty. They are all men whose highest aim is the elevation 
and uplifting of humanity, irrespective of physiognomy. 



144 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

During my stay there Dr. Randall did everything to make 
it pleasant for me. I did not lack from him any attention 
that my physical, mental, or moral man required for advance- 
ment. I hope if any of the Faculty got hold of my first edition, 
that they will accept my apology in this. The lady who cut 
the book down was confused and made false statements about 
the University. Now to resume, I was sent to Wesleyan Acad- 
emy. They put me on the cars in New York, and I came 
alone from there to Wilbraham, being placed under the care 
of the conductor. The cars did not terrify me so much as 
formerly ; but I must have worried the conductor not a little, 
for I was anxious to get out at every station, thinking that I 
had reached my destination. ''Wait, wait," he kept saying. 
" I will look after you ; I will see that you are not carried past 
Wilbraham." But his words had no effect upon me. I kept 
bobbing up and down out of my seat every time the train 
slowed up. 

After many hours' hard travel I finally did reach Wilbra- 
ham. The coachman helped me into a stage-coach that was 
in waiting, and told the driver to take me to Wilbraham 
Academy. It was quite dark, so that I was unable to see much 
of the surrounding country, and contented myself in the gloom 
of the coach as best I could. With a loud crack of his whip 
the driver drew up before a large building, shining with lamps. 
"Wesleyan Academy," he said, and helped me to alight. On 
the sidewalk in front of the building were many young ladies 
and gentlemen, strolhng up and down, who stared at me curi- 
ously. I was shown into the pretty reception-room, and very 
soon a fine-looking old gentleman with a venerable gray beard 
came in and introduced himself. It was Doctor Steele, the 
principal of the Academy ; and I felt my heart go out to him 
before he had spoken a half-dozen words. I felt that I had 
found a friend in this man, and I was not mistaken. I had in- 
deed found a friend. 



to THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. I45 



CHAPTER XV. 

"Anything is possible foi- a man who knows his end, 
And moves straight for it." 

— Ano?t. 
MY STRUGGLES FOR AN EDUCATION. 

WiLBRAHAM is a bcautiful little town, skirted on the east by 
undulating hills and tree-crowned mountains, and on the west 
by long, lovely meadow lands. I could go out on the street 
and breathe a long, deep breath of pure, sweet air, and walk 
the hills and mountains, almost thinking at times that I was in 
my own beloved land. 

I began to study immediately. The first term I took Eng- 
lish grammar, composition, Latin grammar, and arithmetic. 
In my former edition there was a misstatement here in refer- 
ence to the studies I pursued during my first term in this place. 
For one year the N. Y. S. C. S. encouraged me with words of 
commendation and good cheer, and paid all my expenses. 

Wilbraham is a farming village, and I tramped from one 
end of it to the other, that summer, looking for work on some 
of the farms. At length one of the men hired me. I knew 
nothing about such work, for I had never been trained to do it; 
but I w^atched the others working beside me, and imitated 
them to the best of my ability. All through the hot month of 
July I worked out in the fields all day long ; at the end of 
July my employer did not need my assistance further. I got 
jobbing work in the town for a little while. It was hard for me, 
because I was unused to anything like it. They were making 
alterations on Rich Hall, one of the Academy buildings, and I 
was put to work at pulling up the elevator. This I was 
obliged to do by sheer muscular strength, and it was no easy 
thing for one man to pull an elevator up a distance of about 
sixty or more feet, loaded, too, as it often was with a weight of 
a hundred and fifty pounds, more or less. My hands began to 
blister, but I persevered, and gritting my teeth stood the pain 
with some fortitude. At the end of two months, with much self- 
sacrifice and economy, I had managed to save fifty dollars. I 



146 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

could have worked no more at that time, for my hands had be- 
come so bhstered and sore that I could hold nothing in them. 

At the end of that time the board decided not to have any 
more young African men brought to this country, because after 
remaining for awhile here they were not wilhng to return to 
their own land to teach ; and they also concluded to return to 
Africa all whom they had brought over within the year past, and 
have them educated at the college in Monrovia. I was one of 
those who were to be sent back. The treasurer of the board 
wrote to me to this effect, and that he would pay my expenses 
back to Africa. But I had made great sacrifices to come to 
America for an education. I had given up the prospect of 
being king of my tribe, and a business position where I was 
earning money while attending school at Monrovia ; I had also 
paid my fare myself to America, using all the money I had saved 
in order to do this. I was also anxious to get a more thorough 
education than I could in the college at Monrovia, and espe- 
cially to study in some theological school, which I could not do 
in Liberia, as there was none there. So I wrote to the treasurer 
that I would not return to my native shores until I had accom- 
plished the ends for which I had sacrificed all my nearest inter- 
ests, and come to a strange land among a strange people. 

Then I went to New York to see H. M. , of the 

Colonization Society, a-nd offered to give him a written agree- 
ment binding me to return to Africa after having finished my 
education, but he would not consent. At the same time I 
called upon the treasurer. 

'^Do you intend, Besolow," he asked me, "to remain in this 
country for good and all?" 

" No, sir," I made reply ; "I do not ; but I do intend re- 
maining here until I am properly prepared for the life-work 
which I have mapped out for myself in my native land among 
my people." 

I left the gentlemen and went out upon the street. 

Alone ! I was indeed alone in that metropolis of America ; 
and then I walked through that great city looking for something 
to do, whereby I might earn money to get something to eat. I 
went to the doors of several residences, asking of the persons 
who answered my pull at the bell for some work, anything by 
which I could earn some bread. But I was turned away, and 
told that they did not hire any colored help. Thus I went 



, TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. I47 

from house to house and from street to street, finding, in some 
cases, need of help ; but because I was colored and had no 
friends I was branded, and there was no place for me. Oh, 1 
thought, shall I die of hunger and neglect ! 

For a day and a half I traveled those streets ; my feet were 
sore, and hurt me at every step. I could not buy any food for I 
had only enough money to get back to Wilbraham, where I knew 
if I utterly failed to get work the people would not let me 
starve. 

At last a colored man took me to a colored Presbyterian 
church, and the minister gave me something to eat, and told me 
if I did not get work to return to him. He and his wife were 
very kind to me, but I was ashamed to live on their charity, and 
often went without my meals until I was so faint it seemed I 
must starve ; then I would go back. By his questioning me we 
found that he and Hon. B. K. Anderson, who had helped me 
in arithmetic in Monrovia, were classmates. 

After a time, by the aid of some other colored men, I got a 
job in a hotel to wait on the table. I did not know how, — I 
had never done anything of the kind, — but I must learn, so I 
went at it. After I had been working a few days I met with 
quite a mishap. A gentleman gave me an order, and I got it 
filled and brought it in on a waiter ; but somehow I tipped the 
waiter and spilled the man's dinner over him. He was angry, 
and, with an oath, said to me, "What are you here for ; you 
ought to be down South, on a plantation." 

My pay was four dollars per week and one meal a day. I 
was told that I could eat all I wanted at that one meal, but 
could have no more. My room was four miles from my work, 
and I must walk twice a day when I could not pay for riding. 
This room was anything but comfortable, being infested with 
fleas and bed-bugs ; the bed-clothing was not changed while I 
was there. Some nights I would get up on the foot-board to 
get away from my most uncomfortable bed-fellows. 

One night one of the men with whom I worked wanted to 
to take me out and introduce me to his friends. I went, and 
was robbed of my ring, that I had brought from Monrovia, and 
the small amount of money I had been saving to carry me back 
to Wilbraham. 

Well, time passed on. I worked here two months and had 
been able, after paying for my room, washing, and my scanty 



148 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

fare, to save five dollars. But I suffered loneliness, hunger, and 
disappointment. I wanted friends ; I wanted to get on, but I 
was failing ; and I was, oh, so heartsick. 

Then out of the five dollars I possessed I paid my way back 
again to Springfield, though what I should do here I did not 
know. Nevertheless, with every passing moment my courage 
came back, and I thought of something one of the students had 
said to me in the year past : '' Persevere, Besolow ; where 
there's a will there's always a way." With God's help and will- 
ingness, I would yet educate myself thoroughly. Doctor Steele, 
the only one to whom I could apply in my time of need, was 
away, traveling in the West. There was no one else. Friends, 
pray to God that you may never, never know the lonely hours 
that I knew for months ! "Alone ! '' Ah ! what sadder word is 
there in your language than that one, "alone" ? Alone I was, 
save for the blessed presence of Christ my Saviour, who in that 
time of care and unhappiness was ever with me, saving me from 
committing many an act for which I would have been sorry 
afterwards. 

I went to the Academy during the fall term of the next year, 
and I was dismissed by the N. Y. S. C. S., but winter came and 
my funds had given out again. Doctor Steele had returned from 
his Western trip, and in my trouble I went to him. In his 
great kindness of heart he permitted me to register for another 
term without pay in advance. 

Things seemed to grow more hopeless and more gloomy 
every day, and only for the sweet love and strength of the 
Christ I leaned upon, I do not beheve that I could have hved. 

I have known days in the winter of 'S8 when I actually did 
not have one cent with which to buy a postal card to reply to 
the inquiring letters of my friends on the Liberian mission. 
My bare feet have been exposed to the cold and snow because 
of the holes in boots and stockings, — from this fact I have the 
rheumatism to-day, — and I have sat in the dark in my room for 
the want of a few cents to purchase oil. How often in the 
gloom of my room I have knelt to God and prayed for death. 
Those were in my discouraged moments. At other times I felt 
hopeful and cheerful, and had a faith in that proverb of yours, 
"The darkest hour is just before dawn." 

The students, I dare to say, would have been glad to help 
me in my time of need, but I was proud, and they did not 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 49 

know of it ; no one knew of all I suffered save myself and my 
Maker. 

The pastor of the Methodist church in the village was the 
Rev. John R. Gushing, who is now pastor of a church on 
Stanton Avenue, Dorchester, Boston. Of this holy man I 
speak in all love and reverence ; God bless him ! If ever 
there was an earnest, devoted helper and counselor, if there 
was ever a man with heart like Ghrist, it is the reverend gentle- 
man of whom I speak. Again I say, may God bless him, and 
shower upon him the choicest blessing of earth and of heaven ! 

"Besolow," he said to me one day, "why do you not prepare 
a lecture on Africa. It would be interesting to the people, I 
think." 

At first I only smiled at his advice ; but he was in earnest. 

"You can do it," he said, "if you only think that you can." 

I followed his advice, and did prepare one. Then, with his 
help and that of the Rev. Dr. Crowell, of Lynn, many places 
were secured for me, at which I lectured, with good enough 
success to encourage me. 

Dr. Growell was certainly a man of God. Many times 
when I was penniless, ray clothes threadbare, my feet on the 
snow, he has helped me. He went from one charge to another, 
especially in the Springfield District, and lie would never forget 
me, but would speak to benevolent men and women in my 
behalf. Through him many a time I have received shoes, 
clothing, and money. 

When I heard of his illness my heart was filled with grief, 
and I feared exceedingly lest he should die. He did die, the 
dear old man ; very suddenly and unexpectedly he entered that 
silent land from which " no traveler returns." His name shall 
ever be held dear and sacred to my memory. Had it not been 
for Doctor Crowell I never would have acquired that degree of 
self-confidence and self-reliance which I to-day possess. When 
I wrote to him and told him that the Colonization had dropped 
me, and that I was helpless in a strange land, he wrote me from 
Lynn, Mass., as nearly as I can remember, as follows : — 

My dear Besolow, — Remember that life is a journey, and a 
difficult one, which you must take bravely. Yes, life for many is a 
hard school. Sometimes everything appears easy, and delightful, 
and pleasing. All humanity and nature seems for us; and then, 
very suddenly, darkness, desolation, and discouragement stare us in 



150 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

the face. It is the gloom and hardships that make men and Avomen 
of us, not the fair prosperity. 

You ask mv advice about j^our remaining in America. If I 
were jou I would remain. It Avill be hard, I know; gloomy circum- 
stances may attend you. Staj^ and fight it through. There is light 
ahead. Your brother in Christ, 

L. Crowell. 

At the time of the help offered by Rev. J. R. Gushing and 
Doctor Crowell, I was completely overwhelmed by debt ; my 
school bills had been mounting into a formidable sum, that took 
my breath away when I thought about it ; and you may be sure 
that I thought of it often enough. That spring I lectured in 
the vicinity of Boston and Springfield, and made enough 
money to pay my expenses and go on with my studies. I am 
grateful to the Congregational, and Methodist, and Presbyterian 
churches for the great help and kindness they have shown to 
me ever since. Those men who cast me off, will yet, please 
God, see me returned to my native land with an education that 
is worth something, and with a determination to use it for the 
best good of my people. They who supposed that I, enchanted 
and captivated by American modes and manners of living, 
would remain here always, will find out how mistaken they have 
been. I love America, and I will always love it ; but — I love 
Africa more. 

Sometimes when I look back and think of the trials I have 
endured, I can plainly see the hand of God in it all, chasten- 
ing, strengthening, and disciplining me ; and now I can truly 
say that I am grateful to him, for sadly, indeed, did I need 
these attributes. Only trouble could have brought them. I 
was taught self-reliance in a way that, if hard, was still necessary. 

I have lectured over the country from East to West, thus 
having access to the people and to the various styles and meth- 
ods of living ; my mind has been broadened as only travel — be 
it ever so limited — can broaden the human mind and heart. I 
have been able to acquire a good deal of practical knowledge 
of the Government, and have grasped, I think, the complete 
and full sense of the word "civilization." Ah ! I burn to see 
the day when Africa, my Africa, will be revolutionized, and from 
the Barbarys to the Cape, from ocean to ocean, know the mean- 
ing of that magic word as I know it. After paying my expen- 
ses I save all that I can, till I am enabled to pay the passage 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. I5I 

over to this country of a young brother and a nephew of mine, 
aged respectively twelve and thirteen years of age. Since my 
first edition, I am glad and grateful to say that I have had re- 
sponses from various churches and benevolent men who have 
offered to pay the passage over to this country of those boys. 

My own ambition, my own aim and desire, is to see Africa 
become a Christian nation. This is my chief thought by day 
and my dream by night. With this end in view I work, and 
pray, long and wait. " My land, my people ! " is my watch- 
word. God bless Africa ! 

Let the American churches speak out ! Let the Congrega- 
tionalists give a hearing ! Hark ! you, whose pilgrim fathers 
colonized New England shores, and there established freedom's 
glorious light ! Let the solid army of the Congregationalists 
stand for the defense of the common faith, and tell heathen 
Africa that Calvary's work is finished ! Let the cohort and the 
phalanx of Methodism come over to the "darkest Africa" and 
help . its people out of the degradation of a polluted society, 
human sacrifices, and the burying alive of women in honor of 
heroes who have gone to Igenie. I call on Methodists because 
their lives are ever augmenting for the fight. Let the sons of 
the French Huguenot, the Presbyterians, give their brotherly 
hand, — they whose camp-fires glow in every nation under the 
canopy of God's heaven. Help the helpless and pity the 
dying. 

Let the Baptists, whose ranks are still swelling with converts, 
help to the best of their ability in strengthening the faith of 
David, and stand firmly, truly, and valiantly for the defense of 
Israel. 

Let the Episcopalian, whose camp-fire and altars glow 
brightly in the early dawn, and are preparing for that mighty 
day, save Africa's sons and daughters from the blood covenant 
and human sacrifices. Lutherans, we call upon you to dry our 
tears, and heal our wounds. You, whose name recalls the 
Reformation of dark ages, and made popes hear you, free 
Africa from her dark ways. 

Let Congregationalists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Bap- 
tists join hands fervently in this great work. 

Let this very State, Massachusetts, — the seat of American 
liberty, — send floods of applications to Congress for the redemp- 
tion of these most benighted men. 



152 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

The grandest object that is before me is to enrich my mind 
and improve it ; to unfold and invigorate the faculties ; to store 
up in my mind the best and the most useful knowledge. I 
desire the most to nip and eradicate every bud of prejudice 
from my mind ; to stay the tide of passion ; to emancipate 
myself and soul from the race problem. 

My intense desire is to elevate, and not pull down and 
destroy; to liberahze my view; subject my best power and 
every thought to empire of reason. I long to subordinate my 
best qualities for God's service ; and, in short, to prepare for 
that silent and receding world. If I should w^rong my fellow- 
man, an angry God I must face ; so it behooves me to prepare 
the mortal for immortality, because, my fellow-man, " we shall 
meet a just God in that day." 

My dear lovers of truth, this is my highest ideal of man 
and of life. 

If any man loves to assail pride, egotism, prejudice, dog- 
matism, I do ; on the other hand, if any love docility, meek- 
ness, kindness, affability, and liberality, I do. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 153 



BENDOO'S APPEAL. 

O Spirit Divine! O Spirit anointing! 

We on thee wait, and on us descend. 

Myriads of Afric's sons are dying in darkness and sin, — 

Jesus is calling; 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
Ethiopia is beseeching with scarred hands and Arab's bondage. 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
Rend, rend, O Christian, rend that long-enthralled chain. 
Jesus is still gently calling; 

Whom shall Jesus send? 

O Spirit Divine ! O Spirit anointing! 

Hear, oh hear the groan of Afric's swarthy sons, 

With scarred hands and Arab's bondage ! 

Rend, O Christian! rend that long-enthralled chain. 

Jesus is still tenderly calling; 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
Look and see Africa unsealing gates ; 

Her nights of gloom are receding fast, and her sorrow is over. 
Jesus is tenderly, gently pleading; 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
Christian man, maiden, what a work that will be ! 
Dark Congo is breaking her chain of sin and errors, 
And myriads of petitions to Jesus are now ascending, 
Who, once on Calvary's cross bleeding, is now interceding. 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
O young man, maiden, hear, oh hear! 
The Spirit Divine calls you 

To distant strand, to carry the gospel light, far, far away 
Over the ocean deep. 
Jesus is still quietly calling; 

Whom shall Jesus send? 

Africa, my dearest ! the land of heroic Stanley's pride. 

Where the sky is brightest at eve, thy gloom of darkness is over: 

A land fell in darkness, and blinded by error's chain, 

Haste, O Christian, haste your aid to lend. 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
The land of pyramids, ancient seat of science, 
Fell into darkness by error's chain : dearest Africa, thy sorrow is over. 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
A land once hating his cross, but now humbly waiting, 
Gently bending at Jesus' calls, — 



154 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

Haste, O Christian, haste jour aid to lend; 
Jesus is still eternally pleading. 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
Africa, dearest! thy night of gloom and sorrow is over, 
And thy sons shall be saved. 

Haste, O Christian, haste the gospel to Afric's realms! 
Carry them help, carry them healing, 
"Far, far over the ocean deep;" Christian, pity them, pity them. 

Whom shall Jesus send.^ 
Puritan sons, hear the appeal from this distant clime; 

Whom shall Jesus send.? 

Congregationalists, there is a pleasant land " far, far awajs" 
Where flowers eternally bloom by " breezes free," where " eternal 

harvest reigns," 
Where golden sand her coast doth surround. 
And delicious fruits abound 
Through long, hot summer days from " morn to noon, from noon to 

dewy eve ;" 
Where eternal spring abides, and " never-fading flowers"; 
Where the sun his equal ethereal course performs ; 
But the " Prince of Darkness" over this land doth reign. 

Whom shall Jesus send.'' 
They lift their hands and raise their cry to Puritan sons. 

O Christian, pity them ; they are dying a thousand in a single day ! 
They are your brothers, sisters, and friends, 
Will you let them to endless darkness go? 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
My Christian brother, friend. 

My countrymen are dying, oppressed in error's chain ; 
Pity, pity them, O Christian, pity them! 

Whom shall Jesus send? 
Send the gospel light to Afric's realms, 
Send them peace and love, — 

The gracious proclamation that Calvary's works are finished. 
Hear this appeal from Afric's pen, ye men and women I 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 1 55 

[Postal address, Manoh, Salijah.] 

Sierra Leone, West Africa, 
Nov. 15, 1890. 
Dear Mr. Sherman : — * 

When I received your letter September 24th, last Saturdav^ I 
sent for your brother William, and asked whether he would like to 
go to America. He replied, If he had the money. So I told him to 
write to you. I hope he may give it in time for me to enclose in 
this. 

You must indeed have been most industrious to have earned so 
much money; and it is a truly noble idea to educate your brother, 
who is a very good boy. 

If you will get Messrs. Yates and Porterfield to give an order to 
their captain to take him over, I Avill see that he goes; but the 
vessels do not now call at Cape Mount, and if he has to go to Mon- 
rovia it will be very awkward ; and should he have to walk the 
beach, he certainly ought to have ten days' notice. 

Then he will want much warm clothing, which cannot be 
obtained here, even if we had the money ; but having passed through 
the same experience, you will know what is needed. 

I sent your letter to Mr. Coles, but have not seen him; he is 
seldom at home. I am sorry you troubled to send the dollar, but 
will keep it for William. 

Wishing you every success, and God's choicest blessing of his 
Spirit, I am. Yours sincerely, 

M. R. Brierley. 

November 19, 1890. 
Prince Besolow, Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass.: 

Dear Sir, — Since writing the accompanying, I find your brother 
William has drawn back, and it seems nothing can persuade him to 
change his mind; he says he cannot leave his mother. So, my 
poor friend, you must be content, and come out as soon as you can. 
We do not need high education, but God-fearing, pure-minded, con- 
scientious men. This is, indeed, a grand field of labour, and 
labourers are needed. I shall hope to hear from you again ; and 
tell me whether I shall give the dollar to your brother, or return it 
to you. Believe me. 

Yours in sympathy, 

M. R. Brierley. 

Department of State, 

L g Monrovia, Liberia, 

Republic of Liberia. Feb. 18, 1891. 

Sir : I am in receipt of your interesting letter of the 3d ulto., 
making inquiries with respect to the credibility of one Thomas 
Sherman, of the Vey tribe, and in reply will briefly say that I have 
known him for some years, and have heard of nothing to his dis- 
credit. He has been active, industrious, and honest, and, so far as 

*English name given me on the Mission. 




156 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA 

I have been able to discover, has always displayed a desire for the 
acquirement of useful knowledge. 

I may further add that I knew Thomas Sherman's father, Chief- 
tain Coirly, town of Bendoo, Fisherman's Lake, personally. I 
therefore recommend him to American confidence and benevolence, 
and you have my assurance that his tale is worthy of full faith and 
credit. I have not been favored with a copy of his book. 
I remain, Sir, Yours faithfully, 

E. j. Barclay. 

Secretary of State. 
I hereby certify that the above is a true transcript of a letter 
received this day, March 28, 1S91, the original of which remains in 
my possession. Walter Laidlaw, 

Pastor jfemain Memorial Church, Wes/^ Troy, N. Y. 

Sworn to before me, this 30th day of March, 1891. 

F. B. DURANT, 

Notary Public, Albany County. 

Baptist Vey Mission, 
Manoh Salijah, Sierra Leone, W. C. Africa, 
February 18, 1891. 
Prince Besolovv^ : 

Dear Friend, — Yours of Dec. 27, 1890, has been received, and 
contents noted with pleasure. We were truly glad to hear from you. 
We are pleased to see though you are in America, yet you remember 
Africa. We are all doing well in our mission work. The people of 
Bendoo have come together and built for me a church in the town 
at their expense, and I preach for them every Sunday. We have 
had a great many deaths in Bendoo the last year. Nearly every 
week some dies. Your uncle Wm. F. Cole is well, and sends how 
do to you. 

It seems that the boys are not willing to go to America, nor are 
their people willing to ^vif^ them up. Mr. Cole is willing, but he is 
alone. The old people say if you are so blessed of God, why don't 
you send them something. Well, Thomas, you know these people 
here. They want you to "dash" them ; that is, they want you to send 
them something to beg them, as they call it. True, it is a bad thing 
to do to pay a man to let you do him good, but if you never send a 
" dash " to these old people, they will never let these boys go from 
here ; you may talk till judgment day. Again, you must write them 
long, interesting letters. Tell them about the country and people. 
Tell them how you live, and how the people like you. And send 
them a " dash," and then I think you can get the boys. 

Send the boys something. If they come to America, they need 

civilize clothes to wear in going. One of the boys, William , is 

at the Cape Mount Mission, and George is at Bendoo. I see him 
often. Mrs. Coles and our little daughter join me in much love to 
you. Hope you a great success. 

I am yours in Christ, 

John J. Coles. 



TO THE LIGHT OF AMERICA. 157 



TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 

Realizing that the Christian public is pressed on all sides for 
benevolences, I came before you with plans for gospel mission 
work, onlj asking that you consider them, and if they meet your 
approval as being advisable and feasible, I ask your sympathy and 
such aid as God may give you ability to render. You can at least 
pray for the work. 

When I left Liberia, God laid it upon my heart to get an educa- 
tion in America and carry back to that benighted land that which 
would elevate her people, — namely, a school. 

I now purpose to establish a school in Guinea, Africa, for the 
evangelization of the black people of West Africa. The character 
of this school is to be both educational and missionary, whereby I 
hope to bring a Christian civilization to this people. It is my pur- 
pose to establish, in connection with the school, a church, and 
make the Gospel of Jesus Christ the great central theme in the 
work. There will be a farm connected therewith, which will help 
to make the school self-supporting. 

After careful consideration and prayer the institution is named 
Bendoo University and Great Britian and the American School of 
Missions, for which I have 200 acres of land, — the gift of the son 
of King Armah of Guinea. We have privilege of selecting the 
location, which will be on the high lands, for the benefit of the 
workers, — the high land a cool climate, in which foreigners can live 
with little danger to health. 

Donations already received amounted to $1,500.25: from Li- 
beria, $500.25, from Americans, $1,000.20. Pledges have been 
received from benevolent Americans for $4,002.16, and our friends 
in the British Empire will soon respond with their gift, as I am now 
holding correspondence with prominent men in England and Bel- 
gium in behalf of the University. So ihe year 1891 opens with the 
following to the credit of the institution : — 

Land in Liberia, very productive, estimated value, $500.00 

Liberian Contributions . , . . . 500-25 

American Contributions ..... 1,000.20 

American Pledges ...... 4,002.16 

Total, $6,002.61 

To this will be added the profit from the sale of this book. 
And in order that every man, woman, and cViild may have a chance 
to contribute to this work, cards will be published, bearing the 
picture of a brick of this institution, which will be sold for ten 
cents, the profits going into the school fund. One million cards 
represent the bricks of the institution. 



158 FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA. 

For reference of character and reliability, I refer, by permission, 
to,— 

Rev. Addison P. Foster, D.D., Pastor of Immanuel Congre- 
gational Church, Roxbury, Mass., and Rev. John R. Cushing, 
A.M., Pastor Methodist Episcopal Church, Mattapan, Mass., Treas- 
urers of the funds for the mission school. 

Rev. G. M. Steele, D.D., LL.D., President Wesleyan Acad- 
emy, Wilbraham, Mass. 

Hon. a. D. Williams, Senator, Monrovia, Liberia, Africa. 

E. J. Barclay, Secretary of State. 

Hon. Robert T. Sherman. 

A few Christian young men uniting with me, have organized 
to carry forward this work; to raise the money, and build this 
Gospel Lighthouse for West Africa.* We ask whoever reads this 
to do three things for us : first give us your prayers that God may 
give us strength to do this great work, and that the people may 
become interested in the work; then buy this book, and ask others 
to buy it; do the same with the "Brick Cards," remembering that 
the profits go to the mission-school fund; and lastly, if God has 
blessed you with this world's goods, and if you want to help tell the 
story of salvation to the dark sons of Africa, give to this work as 
God has prospered you. And when from the east and from the 
west, from the north and from the south, we meet to sit down with 
patriarchs, and prophets, and the ransomed of all nations, you may 
know some one personally from the bounds of this now benighted 
land whom you helped to a saving knowledge of Jesus. May 
Christian women and men of all denominations pray for this light 
to Darkest Africa. 

All Sunday-school superintendents are invited to help by send- 
ing for these cards and introducing them in their schools. Do some- 
thing for the Dark Continent while you have so glorious an 
opportunity. 

I do hereby most heartily and sincerely acknowledge my in- 
debtedness to Rev. Benjamin F. Gill, A.M., my teacher in Greek 
and history. I feel myself under many obligations to him for the 
instruction I have received under him. I realize that I am better 
in every respect for having come in contact with the honorable 
gentleman. Although I am looking forward to other fields of labor, 
yet I will remember him and the time he spent on me. I shall ever 
be mindful of the man as a gentleman. May he live long and en- 
joy life. I say again and again, many thanks to him : when my 
enemies would sap my very vitality, he fought to save me. I re- 
member when I had no money to buy my Greek books, and had 
made up my mind to give up the study, he offered to purchase them 
for me. May he think he has done something for my land. I shall 
always remember him with a grateful mind. 

Let me not forget my friends in Boston and West Troy who pro- 
tected me when, through my own carelessness and negligence, I fell 
into intricable difficulties, Messrs. Geo. A. White, L N. F. Thayer, 
Frank Wood, and finally Rev. Mr. Walter Laidlaw. These gentle- 



TO THE LIGHT OF* AMERICA. T59 

men saved me. Many thanks to them; and may God bless my 
enemies, if I have any. 

I lake the opportunity, also, to thank my other teachers, namely, 
Charles H. Raymond, A.M., B. S. Annis, A.M., Joseph C. Rock- 
well, A.M., and especially John F. Mohler, A.M. Also extend my 
hearty appreciation to my friends of fidelity. Misses A. M. Hall, 
Emily L. Wyman, and particularly Sarah Loomis. 

One word more for the book. The subjects are not arranged 
chronologically, and there are great intervals which are not filled 
out. 



l6o FROM THE DARKNESS OF AFRICA. 



CORRECTIONS. 

On pages vii and viii of the preface, and 32, 37, and 49 of the 
book, I have called attention to errors made in the old book; in addi- 
tion to these I find there are still some statements that should have 
been corrected, but were overlooked. These are due to the same 
cause for their original appearance as those corrected in the text. 
See pages noted below. 

Much of this trouble arose from my telling my assistant stories 
of both my grandfather and my brother, whose names were like my 
own, — Besolow; and she, mixing the incidents of my own life with 
these stories, has made some grave errors appear. 

Pages 15 and 29 : The punishments here spoken of are facts, 
but the stories are drawn rather stronger than perhaps they should 
have been. 

Page 33 : A story told me ; I know nothing of the real facts. 

Page 47 : I was in the hunting school, but did not take the 
active part in some of the work as represented; all, however, was 
true of the school as a whole. 

• Page 51 : Boys were not allowed to engage in the elephant 
hunt; none but old hunters did this. 

Page 56 : "One foot was partly devoured," should read, one foot 
was partly destroyed. 

Pages 66 and 67 : " Swelled to almost double his natural size," 
is, of course, an exaggeration. 

Page 78 : " Fifteen hundred boys" — an estimated number. 

Pages S3 and 84 : These slaughtered men were not our own sol- 
diers, but wei-e mercenaries who were hired, and who turned traitor- 
in the battle. 

Page loi : "Dozens of infants," should read, dozens of animals; 
and "prisoners innumerable," should be, sacrifices innumerable. 

The "Amazon story," of Chapter VII. in the old book, was only 
a story told me by my father of my grandfather's days ; but, without 
my consent, was so badly mixed up with my own history as to spoil 
whatever of truth there was in it. I have decided to leave it out of 
this edition. The reference to it on page 88 is accounted for by this 
note. 

Page no: The "proclamation" is given (in substance) as near 
as I can remember it. 

Thos. Edward Besolow. 







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